Tomorrow is Another Day
by stardotbrite
Summary: Damon tries to regain his strength after the wolf bite, while trying to locate Stefan & keep Elena safe. Delena friendship/potential romance. Character Angst. Gap between Season 2 to 3. Mainly 2x22 spoilers, minor S3 spoilers in final chapters. *COMPLETE*
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Damon tries to regain his strength after the wolf bite, while trying to locate Stefan and keep Elena safe. Delena friendship/potential romance, with a dose of character angst thrown in.

Spoiler Warning: Various references to Season 1 and 2 episodes, though mainly 2x22 As I Lay Dying. Minor spoilers for Season 3 in later chapters.

Author's Note: This is my attempt at filling the gap between the end of Season 2 and the beginning of Season 3. Please leave a review; I love to hear what you think.

Disclaimer: I am not associated with, nor do I own The Vampire Diaries.

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><p><span>Tomorrow is Another Day<span>

Chapter 1

As quick as she had appeared Katherine was gone, leaving confusion and a whole lot of unanswered questions in her wake.

Elena stared at the vial she now held in her hands, it was blood it had to be. The idea should have disgusted her, but living in a world of vampires the fact that blood was the cure didn't come as a surprise. However who's or what's blood was still a mystery and if Katherine knew the answer she had chosen to keep that information to herself. Information was power in her doppelganger's world.

Elena looked over to Damon for the first time since catching the vial. He was trying to prop himself up in bed. He stared at her with such disbelief in his eyes, his eyebrows rising in puzzlement.

"He didn't…" he whispered hoarsely.

"Damon we have to find him."

"I know."

Elena placed the vial on the night stand and immediately dug her phone out of her pocket and started texting:

_Damon's okay. Where R U?_

She hit send and waited… Her phone beeped indicating that the text had been received. That was a good sign, at least wherever Stefan was he had his phone on and the text had got through.

She started pacing the floor along the side of Damon's bed, just staring at her phone, waiting…

Nothing.

The more she paced, and the more time that went by, Damon could see her face begin to drop more and more. Unable to keep holding himself up, he flopped back against the pillows.

Still no reply.

"Elena…"

"Don't say it," she dismissed his words with a wave of her hand, "he's okay, he has to be."

Damon tried again, speaking quietly, "He might not be able to reply, he might not have his phone anymore, or he might not want to reply…"

His last words hung in the air between them; Elena didn't want to accept that. Stefan would be fine and he would get them a message if he could. But he hadn't yet.

Elena sat down heavily on the foot of Damon's bed and let out a long sigh, still staring at her phone, willing it to make a noise.

Damon's heart broke while watching her. He now had another reason to feel guilty, to add to his already long list. His little brother had sacrificed himself, given himself over to save him, to the biggest baddest 'were-pire', 'wolf-vamp' or whatever the hell he was. Why did he do it? Out of a sense of loyalty, guilt or even love?

Damon had gone out of his way to make Stefan's life a misery. But even after all he had done, Stefan was still his brother and he knew that if their positions had been reversed (if it was Stefan who lay dying from a werewolf bite), Damon knew he would have done anything and everything to save him. They were brothers. The only difference was that Stefan was good, he deserved to live and he deserved the life he had created here in Mystic Falls. Whereas Damon knew that he himself had deserved to die, and had told Elena so. Damon had already made his peace with the world; he was prepared to die this evening. In fact if he had had his way he would have died earlier that morning in front of the window. The rays of sun had warmed his cold skin and he knew what he had to do. Taking his ring off and waiting for death to consume him had been the right decision to make. But his baby brother had saved him then too, determined to keep him alive, if that's what they are.

Elena gave up staring at her phone and looked over at the recovering vampire, his eyes were half closed and he seemed to be fighting sleep. One part of her wanted to hit him and tell him to get himself up and get Stefan back, but the other part of her wanted him to rest and recover fully. '_Damon's okay_' she had put in her text message to Stefan. She had not really considered those words when she had typed them furiously into her phone earlier. '_Damon's okay_'. He's going to be alright, he's going to recover and he's not going to die tonight. The relief she hadn't realised had been holding itself back now washed over her. She wasn't going to lose anyone else this night, and although Stefan was God knows where, he was still alive she knew that. She knew that Klaus had plans for him, but she also knew they would get him back.

As if echoing her thoughts Damon barely whispered out "I'll get him back I promise." His eyes fully closed.

Elena got up and rushed to the head of the bed, throwing her phone onto the night stand. She knelt beside the bed and placed her hand gently on his face, she let out a relived breath when she realised that he had just fallen asleep, he was exhausted. '_Damon's okay_'.

Elena was torn about what to do. Should she rally the troops and start hunting for Stefan now before it was too late? But the other part of her, which was starting to become more prominent, wanted to stay with Damon and make sure he was going to be alright. He shouldn't be left alone tonight. Staring down at Damon's face, she realised how peaceful he looked while sleeping, the hard edges he had to his expression when he was awake were gone. He wasn't so scary.

Realising all her problems would still be there in the morning, Elena made a decision. She climbed back onto the bed and found herself in the same position as before, lying against his side, head on his shoulder and hand wrapped around his.

Her life was messed up. She had a boyfriend to save and get back, but she knew she was also lying to herself if she didn't admit there was something there between her and Damon. And they also had the small matter of deathbed confessions and that kiss to deal with.

Tomorrow was another day, and with that she fell asleep. For the time being her phone was left forgotten on the night stand.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Morning came too quickly for Damon; he slowly opened his eyes, woken by the rays of sun streaming their way across the room from the window. His gaze fell on the person that lay next to him, tucked in tightly at his side. She had stayed. Damon was beyond surprised that she was there; she could have easily left and gone home last night, stayed in Stefan's room, or even slept in the chair besides his bed. But no, she had chosen to fall asleep against his side.

Damon smiled, _'God she was beautiful'_. He gently moved the strands of hair that had fallen across her face in the night, stroking her cheek ever so softly as he did.

As much as he wanted to stay there forever with her, his mind started piecing together the events of the previous night. Stefan was gone and he not only promised Elena he would get him back, but he owed his brother more than he could ever repay.

Before he realised what he was doing, he slowly moved his head down and kissed Elena on the top of her head. She stirred slightly from the contact but didn't wake up. Damon looked down at their bodies; she still held his hand and was resting against him. He extracted himself from Elena's clasped hand and slowly inched away from her, careful to lower her to the mattress, into the space he had been occupying moments earlier.

Damon moved himself towards the other side of the bed and swung his legs over the side. He felt terrible, it was worse than any hangover he had ever had. He was cold, and still sweaty from the sickness last night, he probably smelt terrible too. A cringe formed on his face as he wondered how Elena had ever managed to sleep next to him all night. Glancing back to her to make sure she wasn't awake and watching him, Damon tried to stand up carefully, he managed to stand but he swayed slightly. After he had regained his balance he cautiously walked, stopping to rest against one of the massive posts at the foot of the bed. He leaned against the post for what felt like an eternity, all his strength had left him. He didn't know how long the cure would take to work its magic, but apparently it wasn't a quick fix. Looking back at a sleeping Elena, he decided that was a fact he would need to keep hidden if he was to go after Stefan any time soon.

Pushing off from the post, he made his way over to his en-suite bathroom, fumbling with the buttons of his shirt as he went. He couldn't quite get his fingers to work the way his brain was telling them to. He gave up trying to unbutton the shirt and ripped the material off instead, throwing the shirt in the bin as he passed it. The shirt was ruined anyway; it reeked of death and sickness to him. He looked down at his arm for the first time since taking the cure; the bite had improved and was now just a red rash against his pale skin. Clumsily pulling his boots and jeans off, he walked into his massive shower and started it. He placed his hands and head against the tiled wall for support and let the water cascade down his back, soothing his aching body.

He allowed himself this little luxury and time, knowing that before too long all hell would break loose again. After some time, he reluctantly turned the shower off and got out. He felt better, but he knew there was something he needed more than the shower… blood. Wrapping a towel around his waist he walked back into the bedroom and hunted down some clean clothes. Pulling on a fresh pair of jeans and pulling out one of his favourite black shirts. His fingers still didn't want to comply so he gave up and left the shirt unbuttoned.

Walking back over to Elena, he stroked her hair again, this time exposing her neck. He eyed the two messy puncture marks he had left on her skin and ran his finger over them. He started to feel the hunger swelling up in him and started to feel his fangs extend. Horrified, he abruptly pulled his hand away and looked away. _'What was he doing?'_ As quick as his healing body would allow him, he fled the room and headed downstairs towards the kitchen.

Opening the fridge he was relieved to see a bag of blood waiting for him, pulling it out he emptied the contents into a mug. Lifting the mug to his lips he took a hungry mouthful of the lifesaving liquid. Damon coughed and brought most of it back up, staring at it in disbelief, "Urgh, that's disgusting". Not put off, he put the mug into the microwave to heat up the contents, thinking that maybe warm blood would be better than cold. The microwave beeped and he extracted the mug, gingerly taking a small sip this time. It was better, and he managed to keep it down, but something still didn't taste right. It tasted stale.

Before Damon had time to over analyse the blood, there was a knock at the door.

He placed the mug back down on the kitchen counter and walked through the large hallway to the front door. Without thinking he opened the door and swung it back on its hinges.

Suddenly a stake was driven deep into his chest. _'What the…?'_ Damon was unable to hold himself up and began to fall backwards from the shock and impact, but the hand that had plunged the stake applied pressure up against it and lifted him off the ground instead.

Damon couldn't form any words, his breathing was becoming difficult and he was gasping for air. The stake had missed his heart, but had without a doubt pierced a lung and continued to do damage as he was suspended in air against it.

Damon moved his pained look from the hand on the stake, to the face of his attacker.

Klaus stared back at him with an evil grin on his face.

"Let me make this perfectly clear, this is your one and only warning. You live because I permit it. You are my bargaining chip for controlling your brother. Do not come after him, or I will finish the job and kill you. Or better yet, get Stefan to do it for me. See he's my ripper now, my brother."

And with that Klaus threw Damon across the hallway with ease. Damon collided with the mirror on the wall and into the side table, knocking the lamps and himself to the ground in a pile of shattered glass.

With one last malicious smile Klaus disappeared back out the door.

Face down on the floor, Damon found himself at an awkward angle; he slowly rolled onto his back and gave out a strangled cry. Lifting his head slightly and looking at the stake, he gripped hold of it with both hands and pulled as hard as he could, yelling in pain and horror when he realised the stake wouldn't budge. He wasn't strong enough to save his brother and now he wasn't strong enough to save himself. His head fell back hard against the floor and his arms flopped to his sides.

"E-len-aaa…" he managed to croak out in a painful whisper, immediately causing a coughing fit to begin.

He was in bad shape again and needed to get the stake out now.

"Elena", it came out a bit louder this time, so he tried again and with all the strength he had left yelled out her name "ELENA!"

The world started to go black…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Elena suddenly woke to the sound of smashing glass. It took her a few seconds to realise where she was and that she had spent the night on Damon's bed. Instinctively reaching for him, she found an empty space next to her.

Pure dread started to well up inside her; she launched herself off the bed and ran out of the room, heading in the direction she thought the sound of the breaking glass had come from. Half way down the stairs she heard the awful sound of Damon yelling out to her.

"ELENA!"

Elena quickly got to the bottom of the stairs and rounded the corner. She let out a shocked gasp when she saw him.

"Damon."

Running over to him, she threw herself down at his side and grabbed hold of his closest arm.

"Oh my God Damon, what happened?"

She was terrified when he didn't respond, his eyes were closed and he was unconscious. Staring down at his bare chest she was horrified to see the wooden stake embedded there. Letting go of his arm, she wrapped both hands around the stake and pulled it out as gently as she could. She stared at the crude weapon in disgust and then quickly threw it across the hallway. Directing her attention back to Damon's face, she tried to get him to respond.

"Damon, come on open your eyes."

Damon's eyelids opened very slightly and his eyes locked with hers, she gave him a small nervous smile, and then looked back at his chest. The wound from the stake was still visible and hadn't disappeared yet. He wasn't healing.

Damon's eyes began to close again. Noticing he was fading, Elena held his face tightly between her hands and shook him lightly.

"Oh no you don't Damon, stay with me."

Nothing.

Unable to get any further response out of him, she reluctantly released her hold on his face. Looking at the mess that surrounded them, fear started to consume her. What was she going to do? Suddenly remembering the one thing that might help, she pushed herself up and ran down the hallway. She slipped on one of the rugs in her haste, but quickly regained her balance and continued on to the kitchen. Immediately going to the fridge she flung the door open. She let out a desperate cry and put her hands on her head when she couldn't see any blood bags. Slamming the fridge door shut, she was just about to hurry to the basement when she noticed the mug set aside on the counter. After checking the contents she grabbed it and ran back to Damon.

Kneeling by his side again, she gently lifted his head with one hand and with the other brought the edge of the mug to his lips.

"Please drink Damon."

The smell of warm blood seemed to stir him and he managed to drink a small amount from the mug. But as before he couldn't keep it down and brought it back up in a fit of coughs, groaning in pain as he stretched the wound in his chest.

"Can't…" he whispered.

"Of course you can, now drink." Elena tried lifting the mug to his lips again, but not waiting for him to take it this time; she poured a small amount pass his lips, accidentally spilling it down the side of his mouth in the process. Coughing again, he doubled over onto his side yelling in pain.

Elena didn't know what to do; he wasn't healing and wasn't drinking.

"Can't…" he muttered again.

"Why not? Come on Damon you need to drink this to heal, please for me?" Elena begged.

"Stale."

_'Stale'?_ Elena tried to understand what he was saying; studying the red liquid that still remained in the mug. It then dawned on her that for some reason this blood wasn't any good. Damon didn't have time for her to go and find another batch. Without any hesitation she put the mug down out of the way and lay down in front of him. She pulled her hair away from her neck, and pulled her top slightly off her shoulder exposing the two existing bite marks.

Damon tried to turn away from her, he couldn't do that to her again. But Elena pulled him back and rested his head against her neck. They were out of options.

Once again she pleaded "Please drink Damon."

Realising the direness of his situation, he felt the skin around his eyes shifting and felt his fangs descend. But he hesitated; he didn't want to hurt her anymore.

Elena felt his fangs resting against her neck, but he wasn't making any further movements. Understanding the mental struggle he must be going through, Elena tried to reassure him and whispered in his ear "Please…"

"I don't want to hurt you." She could barely hear his words.

"You won't. I trust you."

After another tentative moment, his fangs sank into her neck. Drawing blood, he finally began to drink.

Elena let out a silent gasp as he reopened the wound on her neck, but he was much gentler with her this time and drank slower. There wasn't much pain and she gained courage from the fact she was giving him something which he desperately needed.

Damon felt some of his strength return, but not wanting to take too much blood he slowly removed his fangs from Elena's neck and gently kissed the two freshly opened puncture marks. Worn out, he fell back onto the floor, pulling Elena with him as he went. Elena fell against his side and rested her head against his chest.

As the morning sun shone through the open door on the pair, Elena's eyes watched as the wound on Damon's chest slowly began to close.

"Who did this?" she asked quietly.

He uttered only one name in reply "Klaus".


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Slightly confused by the open door, Jeremy walked into the boarding house, coming to a dead stop when he saw the scene in front of him. Damon and Elena lay together on the floor surrounded by glass, Damon's chest was covered in blood and a stake lay across the hallway.

"Sis…?"

They both began to stir at the sound of his voice and two pairs of groggy eyes greeted him.

Elena started to sit up slowly and Jeremy rushed to her side. He noticed her blood soaked neck for the first time and gave Damon a disapproving glare. He wiped her hair away from the wound and enquired gently "What happened?"

In unison, Damon and Elena replied "Klaus."

Understanding began to dawn on him and he helped Elena to stand and walked her over to the side table so she could support herself against it. She brushed off Jeremy's fussing hands.

"Go help Damon." She ordered.

Jeremy reluctantly left her side and walked over to the vampire who was still on the floor. Crouching besides him, Jeremy lifted him to his feet and with a weird sense of deja vu (hadn't they only just done this yesterday), he supported Damon's weight and led him over to the couch.

Elena watched their retreating forms. She held a hand to her neck which came away red. Busying herself, she finally shut the front door and made her way to the kitchen. Pulling out the first aid kit from under the sink, she fished around in it until she found a suitable dressing. She cleaned the wound on her neck and covered it. It didn't really hurt, but there was a dull throbbing in her neck that made her fully aware it was there. Grabbing a pan and brush she slowly made her way back to the front door and began to sweep up the broken glass. She could hear pieces of the conversation coming from the next room.

"Ah man you look terrible, but on the plus side much better than when I saw you last night. I take it Stefan was successful in getting the cure?"

Damon just nodded back at Jeremy, who continued on talking… "And Klaus, Klaus was here! What did he do to you? And no offence but why did he leave you alive?"

Damon would have filled Jeremy in on the details, but he had something else playing on his mind.

"Last night, it's all a bit hazy, but I remember you and you were helping me like you just did… but I have a sense I need to apologise to you, only I don't know why?" Damon was frustrated, he could clearly remember Elena from last night (nothing could make him forget her), but everything else was a blur.

Jeremy looked over in the direction where he knew his sister was and looked back at Damon. He lowered his voice slightly.

"Well we were in the Grill and the Sheriff tried to shoot you, only you sped out of the way. Unfortunately for me I was standing right behind you and I got shot."

Not speaking quietly enough, Elena still heard him; she dropped the pan on the floor and rushed into the room.

"What? You were shot?" she quickly asked in disbelief.

Jeremy cringed.

She stopped directly in front of him and immediately started examining him for bullet holes. She couldn't find any and he was obviously unharmed. Jeremy batted her hands away, mirroring her earlier actions against him, but she still managed to find his wrist and lift his hand into view.

"Thank God you were wearing your ring."

"Oh the ring didn't work." He blurted out without thinking; he soon regretted it looking at Elena's horrified expression. Quickly covering his tracks he added "Hey I'm fine now," he patted his chest with both hands. "Look it's not a big issue, Bonnie fixed me."

Elena closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief. Grabbing and pulling her brother into a tight hug.

"Don't ever do that again, I can't lose you too."

"Hey it's alright," he reassured her. He knew they had both lost so much and adding his demise to the mix wouldn't have helped matters. He wanted desperately to tell her about Vicki and Anna, but now wasn't the right time. He just held his sister back.

Damon, who was still seated on the couch, had watched the exchange in silent horror. It was his fault Jeremy had been shot. If Elena had lost the last member of her family it would have destroyed her. Finally speaking he addressed the younger Gilbert.

"Look Jeremy, I'm sorry, I should never have put you in that situation…"

Jeremy broke the hug with Elena and walked over to the vampire.

"Hey it's cool; I'm fine, no harm done. You weren't in your right mind anyway." He extended his hand towards Damon.

Taken back at first, Damon stared at Jeremy's outstretched hand, after a moment he grabbed it and gave it a firm shake. Understanding passed between the two of them, and although Damon still felt guilty, Jeremy clearly didn't blame him.

"So is someone going to fill me in on what's been happening with the two of you?" Jeremy enquired.

With Jeremy's choice of words, Elena's mind immediately went over the events of the previous night. She fumbled for words, but Damon saved her from speaking.

"In a nut shell, Stefan got the cure, Stefan is now working for Klaus as payment for the cure, Klaus paid us a 'friendly' visit and threatened to kill me if I got in the way again. That's pretty much it."

"So what are you going to do?" Jeremy asked.

"Get in the way of course." Damon replied with a half-smile.

An awkward silence fell over the three of them as the gravity of the situation started to descend.

They had to get Stefan back.

Damon stared at his chest which had now fully healed. He briefly contemplated the fact that Elena's blood had worked and it tasted fresh and pure. The idea that blood bags would no longer fulfil his needs not only concerned him, but at the same time intrigued him. He looked over at Elena's newly bandaged neck. He was supposed to be a 'good guy' now, and couldn't go round feeding off humans left, right and centre. The idea of taking on Stefan's bunny diet caused a frown to appear on his forehead.

The silence was broken by Damon's phone going off. Damon's gaze shifted around the room looking for his phone, he hadn't seen it since before he tried to kill himself the previous morning.

Jeremy was the first to spot it, "Oh over here." He plucked up the phone and tossed it over into Damon's waiting hands. Looking at the name displayed on the screen Damon answered the phone abruptly.

"What?"

"Damon, look I know you have no reason to trust me right now, but I need to see you about something."

"You know Sheriff, this is a really bad time…", _'Understatement of the year'_ Damon thought.

"It can't wait; it's about your brother."

"Stefan?"

At the mention of the name, Elena looked at Damon, she was clearly anxious.

"How do I know this isn't a trap? Not that long ago you would have killed me on sight."

"Caroline and I have had a heart to heart. She's explained everything. I admit it's going to take a while to get used to it all, but she told me how much I owe you; you saved her countless times…"

"Fine, but I want to meet in a public place. How about the town square?"

"I'll see you there in half an hour."

Damon disconnected the call and sighed.

"I've got to go out," was all he said as he tried to get up from the couch without wincing or groaning.

He was just reaching the door when Elena caught up with him, "Wait Damon, you're not going by yourself; she tried to kill you last night. I'm going with you."

He was going to argue, he really was, but her pleading eyes stopped him.

"Fine, come on then. Jeremy you can see yourself out," he threw back over his shoulder, while making a grab for the door.

"Wait Damon," Elena said again.

"What now Elena?" it came out more harshly than he intended.

She moved round and stood directly in front of him. She reached out for his shirt and started to button it up. Damon looked down at her; reminded of a time over a year ago she had done this for him before. When she was done, she smoothed the material down his chest and her hands lingered above the spot where he had been wounded by the stake.

He gently cupped her hands in his, and moved them away.

Not meeting his eyes she whispered, "There now we can go."

Jeremy watched the two of them leave with a knowing smile on his face. And he thought he had issues.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The drive into town had been a quiet one. Damon had been a gentleman and had opened the car door for her as she got in, but that was the only form of interaction they had shared. They now sat waiting, Damon impatiently drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.

Damon had parked alongside the square, in a spot that gave a full vantage point. There was a clean up crew going round after last night's Gone with the Wind screening, and another team taking down the banners and the large screen.

Elena cast her eyes over to behind the screen and over to a particular lamp post that stood there, _'Was it really only last night?'_ she thought to herself. Her mind couldn't help but wander over the rest of the evening's events. Looking over to Damon, she didn't know how to start dealing with everything that had happened. But deciding now was as good as any time; she spoke aloud for the first time since the boarding house.

"Damon, about last night..."

Damon silently cut her off by raising a hand and pointing in the direction of the centre of the town square.

Following his line of sight, Elena looked over to see the Sheriff waiting. Elena immediately put her hand on the car door to open it, but Damon reached over and covered her hand with his, effectively stopping her.

"Just wait a minute; we have to be sure she's alone."

He removed his hand from hers and continued to scan the crowd, assessing the situation for any potential danger.

Elena looked over to the Sheriff again, she stood as usual in her uniform, but she looked incredibly nervous, fidgeting with her hands and looking in every direction. Elena didn't know how she was going to react to this woman when she was face to face with her; she had tried to kill Damon and had succeeded in killing Jeremy. She really didn't have a clue about the supernatural world around her until last night, until it all came crashing down around her, including accepting the fact that her own daughter was a vampire. Despite everything, Elena couldn't help but feel a little bit sorry for her, because deep down underneath everything she was only trying to protect the town.

"It's clear," Damon announced.

Looking back over to Damon, she met his eyes. He surprised her by reaching across the car again and raising a hand to touch her hair. He pulled her hair down around her neck, successfully hiding the bandage over her bite marks.

"Okay, let's go," he added.

Damon and Elena exited the car at the same time; walking round it they met at the hood and began to walk side by side towards the middle of the square.

The Sheriff straightened up when she saw them approach.

Damon stopped abruptly a safe distance away from the Sheriff. Elena, not expecting him to stop so suddenly, had to take a step backwards so she could remain at his side.

"Sheriff," Damon stated.

Elena cringed inwardly, their friendship was gone; it was no longer 'Liz', but down to business by addressing her as 'Sheriff'. Elena didn't blame him.

"Damon, Elena…" she greeted.

Elena just nodded at her, but the Sheriff kept her eyes on her.

"How's Jeremy, is he okay?"

"He's going to be," Elena replied.

The Sheriff gave her an apologetic look and then turned to Damon, "You look better than last night. What happened to you?"

Not willing to discuss the wolf bite with her, Damon quickly changed the subject and asked "You called because you had information on Stefan?"

"Yes," she replied sadly, clearly surprised by his abruptness.

She reached round to her pocket to pull something out.

Fearing vervain or a stake, Elena instinctively moved and stood in front of Damon, forming a protective barrier. Damon looked at the back of her head incredulously. He placed his hands on her shoulders and pulled her back to his side, giving her a long look. The Sheriff wasn't about to take him down in the middle of a crowded square, or at least he hoped she wouldn't be stupid enough to try something like that.

"Here it is", the Sheriff stated, oblivious to the exchange that had passed between Elena and Damon. She pulled out an evidence bag containing a phone. "It's Stefan's," she clarified handing it to Damon.

Elena peered over at it, "It's covered in blood."

"Yes. It was discovered at a crime scene early this morning. We found a dead girl, that phone and not a lot else."

Elena looked up at Damon with panic in her eyes.

Remaining calm and collected, Damon asked, "You didn't find Stefan?"

"No, is he missing?"

Damon just nodded in reply.

"Have you logged this as evidence yet?" he asked waving the bag at her.

"Not yet, I wanted to show it to you first."

Instead of offering any information or handing the phone back to her, Damon folded the bag up and shoved it into the back pocket of his jeans.

"I can't let you take that Damon, it's evidence." She held out her hand requesting it back, but Damon made no move to return it.

"If it's not logged, then it's not missing," he simply stated, crossing his arms in front of him.

The Sheriff eyed him warily but didn't press the matter.

"You mentioned a dead girl?" he fished for more information.

The Sheriff gave a cautious look round them to make sure no one was listening.

"We've identified her as a local high school student," she pulled out her notebook and took a brief look at it, "a Valerie Mortimer."

"I know her," Elena replied shocked, "Not well, but she is or rather 'was' in the year below me."

"She was attacked," she looked at Elena in concern before continuing, "Elena forgive me, I know you shouldn't really be hearing this."

"I'm fine, I've dealt with worse trust me," she reassured.

Looking over at Damon, the Sheriff carried on her description, "Her throat had been torn apart. If I didn't know any better I would have ruled it an animal attack and closed the case, but knowing what I do this was clearly the work of a vampire. A sick, sadistic vampire with no regards for human life. They made no attempt to dispose of the body, they just left it. Stefan's phone was found nearby," suddenly thinking, she added, "You don't think whoever is responsible for this attack has taken him as well?"

"I think they just might have," Damon stated gravely. "Sheriff, where was the girl killed?"

"In a storage facility, a few miles south of Mystic Falls."

"Will you show us?" he asked.

"You know I'm not suppose to, but under the circumstances I need all the help I can get. Just give me a minute, I'll bring my car around and you can follow me there."

She quickly turned and disappeared in the direction of the Sheriff's Office.

Damon and Elena just stared at each other.

"Do you think he left the phone as a message or some sort of clue?" Elena asked him.

"Maybe."

"What about Valerie, do you think Klaus killed her?" She asked.

"Anything's possible," he stated quietly, not wanting to voice his real concerns just yet. He pulled the phone back out of his pocket and stared at it again; if Stefan's phone had been there it meant that Stefan had been there. What did Klaus have him doing as payment for the cure? Damon felt a rare shudder go through him at the thought.

A car horn beeped and Damon and Elena turned to see the Sheriff waiting in her car.

"Come on," Damon stated, leading Elena back to his car. He shoved the phone back into his pocket; he would cross that bridge **if** he came to it.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

They drove behind the Sheriff, following her off the main road and down a long deserted driveway which was overshadowed by trees. They were in the middle of nowhere. The driveway began to widen as they neared the end and buildings started to come into view, there was a large warehouse building and several other smaller structures.

The Sheriff pulled her car over to the side in front of the larger warehouse, and Damon pulled his convertible up behind her. The weather hadn't looked promising, so they had driven with the top up. It was starting to get late and the evening was closing in on them.

Both Damon and Elena watched as the Sheriff got out of her car and walked back to them, reaching Damon's drivers side. Damon remained seated, but rolled the window down half way.

"I've just got to go and find one of the Security Guards to let us in; I'll be back in two ticks."

Damon just nodded at her and watched as she disappeared round the side of the building.

"This doesn't feel right," Elena said, "This could be a complete set up."

"Elena, if she wanted me dead she would have done it by now."

"Maybe that's not her intention."

"What do you mean?" Damon asked confused.

"Well, you're a vampire," she stated matter-of-factly.

"That's hardly a newsflash."

"Yeah, but you know things… maybe she wants to tie you up and…"

"Have her wicked way with me?" Damon interrupted wiggling his eyebrows up and down at her.

"Urgh no, gross Damon," she swatted his arm, "I was going to say force information out of you, you know torture you with vervain or something…"

"Nah, that's not her style," he reassured her.

"So you trust her?"

"I wouldn't say that exactly."

While waiting for the Sheriff to come back, Damon pulled out Stefan's phone and released it from the evidence bag. He grabbed a cloth and wiped the blood off the screen; he then switched it on and started searching through the phone looking for anything that might help. Elena quietly watched him, but after a few minutes she grew inpatient and broke the silence.

"Anything?"

"Nothing," he replied, clearly frustrated at the lack of clues.

Elena noticed the Sheriff approaching them again, "She's coming back."

Damon quickly leaned across the car and shoved Stefan's phone into the car's glove box in front of Elena. He then took out a couple of stakes from the glove box and placed one on Elena's lap.

"Keep that hidden," he instructed, hiding his stake inside his jacket. She followed his example and concealed her own stake inside her jacket as well.

"Just promise me you'll be careful," she whispered.

He was going to retort with some smart ass comment about how he was always careful, but the concern in her eyes stopped him and he replied seriously, "I promise."

"How are you feeling anyway?"

"Better," he replied quickly.

The Sheriff reached the window again. Damon and Elena both looked over to her.

"Okay, they will let us in. I had to tell a little white lie and say that you were both investigators, so just go along with me on that one will you?"

"Fine," Damon said before pulling the window back up.

He looked back at Elena, "Ready?"

"Yeah."

Damon got out of the car, but Elena paused for a moment, suddenly scared of what they might find in the warehouse. She pulled herself together, got out of the car and quickly walked over to Damon's side.

"This way," the Sheriff beckoned.

Damon placed one hand on the small of Elena's back and he draped his other hand out in front of him in a grand gesture that indicated she should go first. Elena just rolled her eyes at his old fashioned ways and he just smiled back at her in return. They took off after the Sheriff, who was just babbling back at the two of them.

"So the site is made up of several buildings, but the large warehouse is obviously the main one they use for storage. It's split inside into two sections, long stay and short stay."

Damon's mind began to wander; this information wasn't very fascinating and had nothing to do with his brother.

They passed the corner that the Sheriff had disappeared round earlier and came across the entrance to the warehouse; the Sheriff opened the door and held it open. Elena went ahead and walked into the warehouse, but Damon hung back.

"Oh no after you Sheriff, I insist"

"Okay," she replied hesitantly and followed Elena in.

Damon caught the door before it closed and entered last.

"Sheriff."

They were greeted by a man dressed in a security officer uniform; he had a welcoming smile on his face directed towards the Sheriff.

"Hi Stan, wish we were meeting again under better circumstances."

"Yeah, it's a nasty business. Are you any closer to finding out what happened?"

"We're following all possible leads," she replied noncommittally.

"What's this?" Stan enquired staring at Damon and Elena.

The Sheriff began to introduce them, "This is…" but Damon cut her off and walked towards the man with his hand stretched out in greeting.

"Special Investigator Salvatore and this is my partner Deputy Gilbert."

The Security Officer took Damon's hand and shook it.

"Pleasure to meet you Sir, my name's Stan, Head of Security here."

Elena just stood there staring at Damon, stunned by his charade.

Damon quickly slipped into his role, "What happened last night Stan, was there no one on duty?"

"Oh we did have a young lad on last night, Zack, but he's very new here and he doesn't recollect much from last night. If I'm honest I believe he fell asleep on the job, but he swears he didn't. He hasn't worked for us long, but I'm afraid I had to let him go, I can't afford a repeat of last night and I need a crew I can count on."

Elena looked to Damon knowingly, it had to be mind compulsion, and poor Zack had lost his job over it. But at least he didn't lose his life. Strange that Klaus had left him alive she thought.

"What about the security cameras?" Damon enquired.

"Well that's another odd thing; the cameras weren't even switched on last night, another reason I had to let young Zack go."

"Can you show us where the body was found?" Damon asked.

"Of course, follow me."

They began to walk into the warehouse; it was full of boxes and crates which formed walkways through the massive room. He led them over to the far side corner.

Elena could see the white tape on the floor which clearly marked out the shape of a body; she kept her distance from the spot. Although the body had long since been taken away, she couldn't stop the involuntary shiver go down her spine.

"Here you go, Sir." Stan said, pointing to the tape on the floor.

Damon walked over to the spot and crouched down. The floor was covered in blood. The girl hadn't just been killed, or drained of blood; she would have been brutally savaged for that amount of blood to have been spilled.

Standing back up, Damon asked, "Has there been anyone hanging around the warehouse, anyone acting strangely?"

"No."

"Any sign of forced entry?" Damon asked.

"No nothing Sir."

Damon walked away from the deathly spot on the floor and looked around him, keeping his back to the others he let out a frustrated sigh. He had run out of ideas. He stared around at the crates, _'Why this place, why had Klaus been here?' _He thought to himself.

Focusing on the crates, Damon tilted his head to the side and asked "Have any crates been moved since last night?"

"No", Stan replied, "Since we found the body the whole warehouse has been at a standstill. We did have one crate due to go out this morning, but we have delayed it due to the incident with the body."

Damon whirled round to face him and said "Which crate?"

"It's this big one over here," Stan replied, walking them down a little way and pointing to a large crate which stood taller than any of them.

Damon walked over to it and ran his hand down what appeared to be the doorway. It was sealed shut and locked in several places.

"Do you know what's in it?" Damon asked.

"No Sir, we respect the privacy of our clients, we never ask."

Elena spoke for the first time since entering the warehouse, "What is the crate's destination when it leaves here?"

"Louisiana, a little town outside of New Orleans I believe, called Arcane Creek."

"Thank you Stan, you've been very helpful," stated Damon. He made direct eye contact and focused, "Now you will go back to your office and stay there for the next couple of hours, you won't remember us or our visit at all."

"I won't remember," Stan repeated in a monotone voice. He turned and started walking, presumably in the direction of his office.

"What just happened?" The Sheriff asked after Stan passed her with a vacant expression on his face.

"Damon," Elena scolded.

"What Elena?" he asked.

"Why bother with the whole 'Investigator' act if you were only going to compel him anyway?"

"Where's the fun in that?" he replied smiling at her. "Hand me that crowbar over there would you," he said pointing to the object resting on a few boxes behind her.

"Damon, what are you going to do?" The Sheriff enquired. "You can't open that crate it's illegal, if you suspect something let me get a warrant and we'll do this properly."

"No can do Sheriff, I'm afraid there's no time to do things by the book."

Elena passed him the crowbar. He positioned it against the crate's door and with all the strength he could spare he broke the door free from its locks and swung it open. The light from the main warehouse shone into the crate revealing several coffins and two mean looking vampires staring back at them.

"Well you two sure drew the short straws didn't ya." Damon quipped.

One of the vampires advanced towards him, but Damon quickly pulled the stake out of his jacket and made direct contact with the vampire's heart. The vampire stared at him in shock, his skin started to shrivel and he collapsed to the floor dead.

Fuelled by rage the second vampire ran towards the crate's door, he got the upper hand and tackled Damon to the floor. Damon tried his best to keep the vampire off him, but this vampire was much larger and stronger than he was. Damon was fast losing the battle, when suddenly the vampire roared in shock and moved his hand round to his back, the vampire then collapsed dead on top of Damon. Damon peered over the dead vampire's shoulder to see Elena. Using the stake he had given her earlier, she had delivered a death blow from behind. Damon quickly pushed the dead vampire off.

"Thanks," he said gratefully.

"You're welcome," Elena replied.

She offered him a hand, which he gladly took and she helped him to his feet. Once upright, he quickly let go of her hand and started to dust his jeans off with both hands.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked concerned. "You're not back up to full strength yet are you?"

Trying not to look at her he replied, "I'm fine, and no I'm not but I'm getting there. Using the compulsion earlier must have taken more out of me than I thought"

"Damon…"

Finally giving in, he turned to face her. He tried to give her what he hoped was a reassuring look and said "Don't worry about it Elena."

Damon moved back to the crate and stepped inside it for the first time. He moved over to the closest coffin and without hesitation lifted the lid.

"Lookie what we have here," he exclaimed.

Elena walked over to his shoulder and looked down. Lying before them and very much dead again was Elijah.

"Klaus must have betrayed him. He's got some sort of dagger in his chest again; maybe it's similar to the one John gave to you." She guessed.

"Would someone please explain to me what's going on?" The Sheriff demanded.

Damon and Elena looked at each other and then back to the Sheriff, how were they going to explain this?


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Elena, you care to do the honours?" Damon deflected the Sheriff's question.

"Um, okay," Elena walked slightly towards the Sheriff. "I don't know how much Caroline has already told you. Do you remember Elijah who was in town recently? He was at a few of the Lockwood get togethers," she clarified, and the Sheriff nodded. "Well Elijah is the one in the open coffin over there, he's one of the oldest vampires in existence; he has a vampire brother called Klaus who is equally as old. They are part of the original vampire family; all other vampires come from them. With me so far?" Elena asked.

The Sheriff looked like she had a million questions, but just acknowledged her question with a simple, "Yes."

Elena continued, "Klaus recently broke a curse," she felt a shudder go through her at the memory; "it turned him into a hybrid of sorts, part vampire, part werewolf. Klaus is pure evil and cares about nothing other that his own goals. So, he must have betrayed his brother and killed him; the only way you can kill an original vampire by a special dagger through the heart. We thought only one of these daggers existed, but we must have been wrong about that."

"Though he's not really dead," Damon chipped in.

The Sheriff looked confused by his comment, so Elena clarified, "It's just a temporary death really; if we pull the dagger out Elijah will come back to life." Then she added quietly, "We know that Klaus currently has Stefan." Looking back to Damon she asked "Did I miss anything important?"

"Nah, that covers the basics."

"So who's in the other coffins?" The Sheriff queried.

"The rest of Elijah's family I assume, Mama and Papa Original and their offspring," Damon surmised.

Agreeing with Damon, Elena added, "Elijah said that the original family was made up of nine members, his parents and siblings. So not including Klaus, eight coffins would fit with that."

"That wolf-vamp has a serious case of separation anxiety if he travels the globe with his family packed up like cargo."

"I wonder why he never buried them at sea like he told Elijah," Elena wondered.

"Probably feared what would happen if by some chance they were discovered. This way he's keeping them exactly where he wants, keeping an eye on them. Kind of clever in a sick and twisted way."

"Are they dangerous?" The Sheriff asked Damon.

"Well I wouldn't trust them if that's what you mean, plus they are stronger than any other vampire. Elijah is clever and manipulative, he gets what he wants, if the rest of his family are even the slightest bit similar, then yes they are dangerous. There is a mystery surrounding the original family, we have no idea of their full capabilities. They are not to be underestimated."

"We have to pull Elijah's dagger out," Elena interrupted.

"Have you lost your mind? No way Elena. Elijah will be vengeful and that just equals to a whole lot of danger on our part."

"Exactly, he will be out for revenge on Klaus, not us. He knows Klaus better than anyone; he knows how his mind works, where he'll go, what he'll do. And, other than Bonnie, he's the only one of us who has any chance standing up to him."

"No way," he repeated slowly, emphasising each word.

"What other option do we have at this stage, if you have a better idea then by all means feel free to share with the rest of us?"

"He betrayed us," he said seriously.

"Yes, but look where that got him…" She pointed over to Elijah.

"Resting in a coffin about to be fed-ex'ed across the country?" he quickly joked.

"Exactly, he owes us," she reassured.

Damon paused to weigh everything up. He was no match against Klaus, hell he was no match for Stefan at this moment in time! What did he really think he'd do if he found them? Sweet talk them out of this bad situation? Damon let out a heavy long sigh.

"Fine, but I want to go on record as saying I think this is the stupidest idea."

"Damon please," Elena pleaded.

"Okay, but I better not regret this."

"Don't I get a say?" The Sheriff asked.

"No," Damon replied harshly.

Elena just looked at her apologetically.

"Sheriff, wait outside the crate," he ordered.

The Sheriff had lost control of this situation ages ago, so she obediently left the crate without arguing.

Damon turned his attention back to Elena and pointed to the dagger in Elijah's chest.

"You pull the dagger out, I better not touch it."

"Why not?"

He looked at her; did he really need to spell it out, "I've been reading the Gilbert journals too you know." Damon formed quotation marks with his fingers, "'It must be brandished by humans alone, for it will bring death to all demons who wield it'…If that's just from sticking it in their heart, I don't like my chances pulling it out!"

"Oh, right."

Elena moved back to Elijah's side and looked down at his shrivelled grey complexion. She cast her eyes to the dagger and put her hands round it. She looked back over to Damon seeking his final approval; he gave her a frown but reluctantly nodded his head. Elena yanked the dagger out in one swift movement. She quickly dropped the dagger to the floor and felt herself being pulled backwards to the entrance of the crate by Damon, who moved in front of her in a protective stance.

There was silence for what felt like an eternity, but in reality it must have only been a matter of seconds. All of a sudden Elijah took a loud intake of breath as he was abruptly brought back to life. He thrashed about in the coffin for a few moments, but his body then seemed to calm and his skin returned to normal.

As Elena watched this from behind Damon, she couldn't help but remember back to when this had happened before. Drawing comparison, Elijah had woken and calmed much easier than before. He also wasn't in any sort of distress. She could only conclude that it was because they weren't in someone's house, no one lived here so there was no protective barrier over the building; Elijah required no invitation this time.

Elijah sat up rigidly in the coffin, taking in his surroundings. His eyes fell on Damon and Elena.

"Where am I?" He asked hoarsely.

Elena peered round Damon's side and began to approach Elijah, but her progress was stopped as Damon grabbed the top of her arms keeping her close to him. She looked back at him, but he gave her a warning stare and wouldn't release her. Accepting his protectiveness, Elena stopped fighting against his hold and remained at his side.

Looking back to Elijah, she answered his question, "You're in a storage facility not far from Mystic Falls. We just found you."

"How long has it been? What year is it?"

"Not long at all, it's still 2011, we don't know when Klaus did this to you but the sacrifice was only a few days ago."

He nodded and proceeded to push himself up. Trying to get out of the coffin, he tumbled over the edge and landed in a heap on the floor in a very clumsy manner. Elena instantly moved forward to help him, but once again Damon held her back. Damon couldn't believe that she was so unaware of the danger she kept trying to put herself in and as if confirming his thoughts, Elijah spoke.

"I need blood." He looked up at Damon and Elena from his position on the floor.

With a sigh, Damon said "I've got a couple of bags in the car for an emergency." He got his keys out of the pocket of his leather jacket and handed them to Elena, "They should be in the boot."

"I'm not leaving you here alone," She said.

"Well I'm most certainly not leaving you here alone," he countered her statement.

"Fine, I'll ask the Sheriff to go. I'll be back in a minute."

Elena quickly walked out of the crate. While she was gone Elijah and Damon just stared at each other. They had never got along even at the best of times.

True to her word Elena was back promptly.

"She'll be back as quick as she can."

"Where's Klaus?" Elijah asked.

Damon remained quiet, so Elena answered, "We believe he's heading to Arcane Creek outside of New Orleans. That's where this crate was due to ship to, and we doubt that he would want to be far from it."

Elijah focused on the other coffins around him for the first time. He pushed himself up from the floor and cagily walked over to the nearest unopened coffin.

"We need your help Elijah," Elena continued, "Klaus has got Stefan and we need to get him back."

Elijah made no indication that he had heard her; he just remained staring at the coffin. He ran one hand slowly over the lid, almost instinctively knowing what he would find. He slowly lifted the lid and his gaze fell on the person lying inside.

"Mother…" he whispered inaudibly. He placed a hand on her cheek.

Elena felt her heart breaking for him, despite everything he had done to them. Elijah had just found his family, after years of believing they were lost to him forever. She couldn't even begin to comprehend what he was going through.

The Sheriff reappeared with the bags of blood and handed them to Damon along with his keys, "This was all I could find." She looked warily over to Elijah.

Leaving Elena and the Sheriff at the crate's entrance, Damon made his way over to Elijah. He looked down into the coffin as he approached, which revealed a middle aged woman wearing a vintage dress, indicative of the time period she must have lived in. She had a matching dagger through the heart and was much more desiccated than Elijah had been. Damon waved the bags in front of Elijah.

Blood thirst taking over; Elijah took the bags and ripped into one, drinking heavily. But, after a moment he stopped and asked, "This is all you have?"

Damon quickly moved back to stand between Elijah and the women at the entrance. "Yes."

Using years of practiced restraint, Elijah pulled the bag away from his lips and set them aside. He would need them for later.

He moved back to his mother's coffin and placed his hands on the dagger. He was just about to pull it out when Damon rushed to his side again and stopped his hands with his own.

"What do you think you are doing?" he said with a warning growl.

Elijah made eye contact with him, "You want me to help you get Stefan back, you have to let me wake my family. That is the deal, no discussion."

"Only you," Damon stated with authority.

"No – all – that is my bargain."

Damon let out a groan of frustration and looked back to Elena.

"Damon we have to let him."

"You're suggesting we unleash all the original vampires on the world? We have no idea what that will mean Elena."

"We don't have a choice."

Damon closed his eyes in defeat; this was a very bad decision. Opening his eyes again he stared down at Elijah.

"If you so much as hurt anyone I care about I will find a way to end you permanently."

"I doubt you could, but I understand the sentiment," Elijah stated.

Elena moved forward slightly, "Elijah, why don't you let me do it, it could be dangerous for you to pull the dagger out," she offered.

Damon stared back at her in disbelief.

"Thank you dearest Elena, but the dagger won't affect me in the same way as it would your bodyguard here if he used it."

Damon rolled his eyes at the nickname he had just been given. He slowly released his grip on Elijah's hands. "Just wait a minute," he instructed and walked back over to Elena and the Sheriff. Grabbing Elena's hand he turned her around and walked her to the edge of the crate.

"Elena, go wait outside with the Sheriff and lock yourselves in her car until I come and get you."

"But…"

"No arguing, just do it."

The Sheriff wrapped an arm around Elena, pulling her away from Damon and ushering her outside.

Damon watched them go. Elena briefly looked back at him with a mix of anger and concern before she disappeared from his view. It was going to be the night for making bad decisions he just knew it. He turned back around to Elijah and nodded in defeat. Elijah quickly pulled the dagger out.

Damon moved to the relative safety of the warehouse, outside of the crate. He waited across from the crate, leaning against one of the building's support columns. From his position he had a clear view of the activity inside the crate. One by one, Elijah had moved from one coffin to the next. He had pulled the dagger out, waited for his family member to waken, had given them some of the blood and had whispered words in their ear, too quiet for even Damon's vampire hearing to pick up. Elijah then moved on to the next coffin and repeated his actions. It was a long process and Damon was starting to get inpatient, his fingers were fiddling anxiously with the keys in his pocket. Though in some respect, he was grateful that Elijah hadn't ripped all the coffins open at once, zoomed around pulling each dagger out, and then had them all waking at the same time. If he had done this, he was sure he would be standing in the middle of anarchy right now.

With all the coffins finally open, Damon now got his first view of the Original family. It made an interesting spectacle as they were all dressed differently, as if they were from different times. Which Damon supposed they were, as Klaus had spent years hunting them down, some of them obviously took longer to find and capture than the others.

There was an older couple, who were clearly the parents. They were dressed in the oldest outfits, her in a frilly green dress and him in a smart dark suit. Remembering what Elena had told him, the Father was a wealthy man, and the way he held himself even in his current weakened state showed an air of nobility. When the Father had discovered his wife had been unfaithful and that Klaus was born of a werewolf/vampire line, he had killed his wife's lover. Klaus must have gone after his parents first, presumably seeking revenge against the death of his biological father.

The others, not including Elijah, were made up of three brothers and two sisters. They mostly appeared to be in their twenties or early thirties, but one of the brothers reminded him of Stefan and was clearly in his late teens. They were dressed differently, through the ages, and sporting different hair styles and fads. The youngest appeared to be the most modernly dressed and he figured that Klaus had left him second to last to capture. The last being Elijah of course. Damon thought it was possible that Klaus had chosen Stefan because he reminded him slightly of the younger brother.

His mind quickly turned its thoughts to his own brother. They were wasting time; they had to get going before it was too late. Damon pushed himself forward a few steps but remained at a safe distance.

"Elijah, come on we don't have all day, or have you already forgotten the reasons for your revival?"

Elijah turned to face him, "I haven't forgotten."

He walked out of the crate, followed closely by the rest of his family. He stopped a few metres from Damon and his family formed a line behind him.

Damon gulped slightly; eight against one was not good odds. How did he get himself into these situations? If they turned against him now he was in serious trouble.

"Not so strong are you, without the lovely Elena at your side," Elijah observed.

"We made a deal. You will help us get Stefan back from Klaus," Damon tried his best to keep his voice strong.

"And so we shall," Elijah replied, clearly amused by Damon's predicament and unease.

"Just so we're clear, I don't trust you," Damon said.

"We have both deceived and betrayed the other. Neither of us can trust the other, but what other choice do you have?" Elijah stated.

"I guess that puts us at a truce then doesn't it?"

"Agreed," Elijah answered, though neither of them made a move to shake on the deal.

"We will need to travel to Arcane Creek immediately; if that is the destination you think Klaus is heading to?" Elijah asked.

"Yes."

"I believe you can find your own way there? We will meet you at the town's East border at dusk tomorrow," Elijah commanded.

"It's at least a 15 hour drive to New Orleans alone, and that's without stopping" Damon quickly deduced.

"Then we had all better get a move on. If you aren't there we will carry on without you."

Elijah looked back at his family, and they all took this as their cue to leave. In the blink of an eye they had all disappeared from behind Elijah leaving just the two of them facing one another.

Damon was unfazed by their sudden departure, and used the opportunity to ask Elijah one more question, "What are you going to do to Klaus when we find him?"

"That really is none of your concern now is it? If I were you I would be concentrating my efforts on retrieving Stefan. I stayed back to warn you, I cannot be held responsible for my family's actions when they take Klaus down – they will also take down anyone with him."

With that said Elijah also disappeared, leaving Damon standing alone in the warehouse.

After a moment had passed, Damon quickly walked over to the two dead vampire guards and pulled the stakes out of their bodies. They were the only weapons he had. He then rushed out of the warehouse.

* * *

><p>An awkward silence had descended on the Sheriff's car as Elena waited anxiously for Damon to appear.<p>

Breaking the silence, the Sheriff tried to reassure Elena, "He'll be okay, if I know anything about Damon Salvatore is that he can take care of himself."

"I should never have left him in there alone."

"You care about him, don't you?"

Elena looked over to the Sheriff, how was she supposed to respond to that when she didn't fully understand her own answer. She didn't say anything and returned her gaze to the large building in front of them.

After a few more minutes Damon appeared from around the corner. Elena let out a sigh of relief when he appeared to be unharmed. She quickly unlocked the door, and got out of the car. "Where have you been, it's been ages, I've been going out of my mind."

Damon grinned at her, "You were worried, about little old me?"

Elena ignored his wisecrack and asked, "What happened in there?"

"Well 'Project Original' is a go," he said with a smile. But, suddenly turning serious he added, "Look I need you to do something for me, go back to Mystic Falls with the Sheriff."

Elena looked shocked at him, "No I'm not leaving."

"Damn it Elena, it's too dangerous. Klaus doesn't know you are alive and I want to keep it that way."

"What difference does it make Damon, the curse is broken, he doesn't need me anymore."

"We don't know anything about the curse, maybe your blood will reseal it, maybe you're now his biggest threat, we just don't know Elena. It's too big of a risk that I'm not willing to take. Go home."

"No, you need me. I know you don't think that you do, but you do." She then threw back some of his own words at him, "Who's going to save your life when you're out making decisions?"

They were now inches apart from each other, both standing their ground.

"I'm no longer the naive little girl Damon. I can take care of myself and I think I've proven more than once that I can take care of you too."

Damon knew this was going to end up being another extremely bad idea, but he knew from past experience that it was more dangerous leaving Elena to her own devices. She would find a way to get into trouble no matter what she did. At least this way he could keep an eye on her.

"Fine, but you have to promise me something, you have to do whatever I tell you to do. If I think it's too dangerous and tell you to run, you run."

"I promise," Elena agreed.

Damon tore himself away from Elena's intense gaze and walked over to the open door of the Sheriff's car.

"Sheriff, we won't be needing any further assistance this evening. Thank you for your help today."

He went to close the door, but she stopped him.

"Damon, we were friends before I made a mess of all this. I know I have let you down, but I hope one day you can forgive me. If there's anything I can do…" she trailed off.

"Thanks Liz, but we can take it from here." He gave her a small smile and shut the door.

He turned back to Elena to see her trying to restrain a smile.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing," she replied, but knowing fully that by calling the Sheriff by her first name, Damon had begun to forgive her.

"Come on," he said to Elena, placing a hand on her elbow he directed her back to his convertible. The clock was now ticking and they had a long drive ahead of them.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Elena looked down at what she held in her arms – couple of bottles of water, pack of sandwiches, couple pieces of fruit that had seen better days, plastic hairbrush, deodorant… She knew she was missing something.

Her attention was diverted by a not so subtle cough. She glanced over to the sales clerk who looked extremely inpatient. A quick look at the clock behind him showed the time was 10:50 – they must be closing at 11. Her gaze scanned over the deserted gas station store and then over to the forecourt, where she could see Damon still filling the car with gas. They must be his last customers; he was probably hoping to shut up early.

'_Toothbrush_' Elena suddenly remembered. Ignoring the frustrated sales clerk, she moved to the store's selection of dental hygiene, though 'selection' was too generous a word. Plucking up the first toothbrush and toothpaste she saw, she made her way to the front of the store and laid out each item on the front counter. Elena watched as the sales clerk started to run the things through the register. She hadn't been back to her house in over a day, and they didn't have time for her to go back and pack anything. She would have to make do with buying what she needed. Except that was the worse part of it, she didn't even have her purse with her.

The bell rang at the door and Elena turned to see Damon enter, she gave him a smile as he approached her.

"Did you find everything you wanted?" Damon asked Elena.

"Yes thanks."

Damon then addressed the sales clerk, "All this and the gas thanks." He paused thinking and then added, "You don't sell Bourbon do you?"

"'Fraid not"

"Any type of alcohol?"

"Nope, not allowed to sell the stuff anymore."

"Shame."

Damon looked round and grabbed a couple of packets of gum and threw them on top of Elena's items.

"Gum? You chew gum?" Elena asked surprised.

"Helps you know, to keep my mouth occupied, dulls the cravings," he spoke with raised eyebrows as if trying to get the true meaning across to Elena that it helped with blood cravings without saying the actual words. The sales clerk who was eavesdropping clearly misunderstood Damon's meaning though and thought he was talking about smoking.

"Can be tough, I know from experience, you've just itching and dying for another fix."

Damon grew uncomfortable at his choice of words and Elena could see the shift in his posture that indicated he was anxious. She tried to give him a reassuring smile, but he didn't look at her; he just distracted himself by pulling out his wallet and handing a card over to pay for their items. The sales clerk took the card and dumped a bag on top of their goods, which Elena picked up and started to pack their items into.

Getting his card back, Damon thanked the man and walked Elena to the door, holding it open for her, "Miss Gilbert."

"Why thank you Mr Salvatore," she said with a small laugh. Walking towards the car, she added, "You never striked me as a 'gum' type of person."

"There's a type?"

"Doesn't it get stuck round your, you know, fangs?" She whispered conspiratorially.

"Ha ha, very funny."

Turning serious, "I'll pay you back for these," she stated swinging the bag gently in Damon's direction.

"Don't be ridiculous, it's fine."

"Thank you," she replied sincerely.

As they reached the car, the lights in the store and the forecourt went off, bathing them in darkness.

"Eager guy wasn't he," Damon noted.

"It's late, think he wanted to go," Elena replied, stating the obvious.

They got in the car; Damon turned the ignition and lights on and drove off. They left the dark gas station behind and rejoined the long dark road that lay ahead of them.

Elena fished around in the bag and pulled out the gum, handing the packets to Damon.

"Thanks… make sure you eat something."

"Actually I am starving; I haven't had anything since the picnic yesterday. So don't worry, you don't have to force me to eat anything."

Damon's face held a pained expression for a split second, but quickly returned to normal. It was so quick he probably thought she hadn't seen it, but she had. Her choice of words had been poor as Damon apparently still hadn't forgiven himself for feeding her his blood. Though she had forgiven him; she might not have agreed with his decision, but she understood why he had done it.

They sat in companionable silence with the radio playing in the background while Elena ate.

In the silence, she couldn't help but think of random things, from the fact that Damon actually wasn't such a bad driver, she had expected him to be reckless; though he was fast (there's was no denying that), he was very careful. To other things like wondering what Stefan was doing at that moment in time? To thinking she must send Jeremy a text to let him know what she was doing and was safe. To that kiss that was shared roughly 24 hours ago…

Elena looked across to Damon; he caught her eyes watching him.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing," she replied quickly.

Although, it wasn't nothing and she knew it.

For a distraction she pulled her phone out and starting texting Jeremy:

'_On road looking 4 Stefan, don't worry D's with me. Stay safe, luv E xxx'_

She sent the text and the phone quickly beeped showing the message had been received, and in the matter of moments she had a reply:

'_Dont wori? Yeah right – jst come back home safely, tell D I'll stake him if anything hpns 2 U, Jer x'_

Elena giggled and Damon's interest piqued.

"What's so funny?"

"Jeremy said he'll stake you if anything happens to me."

"Well he can try, but if I let anything happen to you I'll stake myself."

And there it was again, a proclamation of how much she meant to him, of how much he loved her.

Damon noticed the growing tension in the air and shifted in his seat.

"Look are we ever going to talk about it or just ignore it ever happened?" He asked bravely.

"What?" she asked.

Damon took his eyes off the road briefly to give her a pointed look; she must know what he was talking about.

"Oh right that..." she stated finally understanding.

The silence crept back between them, but it was Elena who broke it this time.

"Damon you know I care about you."

"Relax Elena, God you're making me nervous. Look I know you love Stefan, the very fact that you are in this car trying to rescue him tells me that. But I'm not going to lie to you or pretend last night didn't happen. Last night meant something to me and despite the fact that I was dying; it was the best night of my life. It was the first time that anyone's accepted me for being me. You gave me hope, not only for a cure, but that there was a chance you saw something in me."

Elena started to look anxious.

"But I just want you to know that I wasn't delirious when I said 'I love you', I meant it," he added.

"I know," she replied quietly.

"And, I'm not going to force my affections on you; the last thing I want you to do is feel uncomfortable around me or hate me again, okay?"

"Okay."

"Just know that I'll always be there for you no matter what. Even if all it's to do is to buy you a new toothbrush," he said with a toothy grin.

Smiling back at him, she was grateful for his humorous attempt at easing the tension.

Noticing she had long since finished her food, he suggested, "Look, it's going to be a very long drive, why don't you try and get some sleep."

"I'm not really tired," she said trying to stifle a yawn.

"Yeah right."

He turned the radio off and then expertly shrugged off his jacket while still managing to drive. He handed Elena the jacket and when she looked as it puzzled he added, "You can use it as a blanket."

He really was thoughtful sometimes. Taking the jacket Elena carefully wrapped it over her front and rested her head against the window. She snuggled down into the jacket, closing her eyes and inhaling Damon's scent. It was a comforting smell and she felt safe. It reminded her of falling asleep against his side the previous evening after he had taken the cure.

Speaking quietly, without opening her eyes, she said, "I am really glad that you didn't die you know."

He glanced over to her, "Me too."

"Night Damon"

"Goodnight Elena, sweet dreams."

Elena quickly fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Damon pulled the car over to the side of the road and parked in front of an all American diner. He turned the engine off and looked over at Elena's sleeping form, still snuggled up in his jacket. Despite claiming she wasn't tired, she had slept through the night. He was loathe to wake her now, when she looked so peaceful and without a care in the world.<p>

Taking a few minutes for himself, Damon closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the head rest. Although he could function without sleep for a while, he could still use a break. He still wasn't 100% since the wolf bite and getting staked by Klaus. They were making good time anyway and traffic permitting they would be arriving at Arcane Creek before Elijah's set deadline.

Damon could feel the sun warming his skin; he loved the feel of it. He slowly opened his eyes again and looked down at the ring on his left hand. His thumb started to fiddle with it, moving it back and forth. He was so grateful for this piece of jewellery. If it wasn't for his ring he would be condemned to living a life in the shadows. He would never have been able to experience the sun on his skin without it. Maybe that was why he had chosen 'death by sunlight' as his preferred method of suicide – in some ways he was at peace in the sun.

Looking back at Elena, he finally reached across the car and smoothed the back of his fingers lightly across her cheek, causing her to stir.

"Damon?" She asked disorientated.

"Who else did you expect?" He asked amused.

"Where are we?" she asked, sitting up straight in her seat and taking in their surroundings.

"Tiny little town, in Tennessee. Thought you might like some breakfast and an opportunity to freshen up. "

"We should keep going," she stated.

"Actually we're making very good time and you need to have a proper meal, rather than stale sandwiches. And besides, I need a break from driving."

"Remind me again why we didn't just fly down?"

"Because the only flights I could find at such short notice were connecting flights, it would've taken longer and we wouldn't have arrived in time. "

"Right yeah, that was it." Her voice had gotten quieter with resolve. She reluctantly lifted his jacket off and handed it back to him.

"Thanks," he said as he took it from her, "Come on sleepy head, let's go."

Damon quickly got out of the car and shrugged his jacket on, not that he really needed it as it was a warm morning, but it smelt of her and he couldn't resist being close to her scent.

Elena opened the door and got out, stretching out her arms and back from sleeping in the same position all night. She ran her fingers through her hair in an attempt to brush it. She grabbed the bag with her newly purchased essentials and shut the door behind her. As she followed Damon to the front of the diner, she took in their surroundings a bit more. She noticed they must be on the main high street of a small town, which had one of everything the townsfolk might need… hardware store, groceries, florist…

Walking into the diner, Damon led her over to a booth in front of a window and they sat down opposite each other. Elena placed the bag by her side on the seat, while Damon picked up the menu and without looking at it placed it in front of Elena.

"Have anything you fancy," Damon offered.

"Hmmm," she murmured while studying the menu.

Damon couldn't ever grow tired of spending time with Elena. Just watching her read the menu, while biting her bottom lip, made him smile.

The waitress came over and greeted them. She was in her late fifties, or early sixties.

"Why hello there you two," she then looked over to Elena, "Well now aren't you just as pretty as a picture."

Elena blushed and accepted the compliment humbly, "Uh thanks."

Damon thought that right there was one of the things that would always separate Elena and Katherine. Elena didn't know how beautiful she really was, whereas Katherine knew full well and flaunted and flirted her way in and out of every situation.

"You are one lucky man mister." The waitress said to Damon.

"No, we aren't together, together," Elena quickly tried to correct the lady's misunderstanding.

"Sure you're not Hun," she said with a wink, "I can see love when in walks in my door, see working in this business for almost forty years you learn a thing or two about reading people."

Elena sighed, there was no use arguing with the lady, she was being perfectly polite and welcoming to them. Besides Damon wasn't helping her out, just staying quiet over his side of the table.

"What'll it be?" The waitress asked pulling out a pad and pencil.

Elena looked back at the menu and said, "Um, I'll have the blueberry pancakes with syrup please, oh and a fruit juice."

"Sure thing Hun and you mister?" She said turning to face Damon.

"I'll just have a black coffee thanks."

"Are you sure I can't tempt you with anything else from our delicious menu? It's all prepared and baked from scratch in house you know. We pride ourselves on true home cooked food."

"That sounds really great, but I'm not hungry I'm afraid, just the coffee for me," Damon replied politely.

"Okay, I'll be back in a bit." And with that the waitress disappeared behind the counter.

"I'm just going to freshen up a minute," Elena told Damon.

"Sure."

Elena picked up the bag, and followed the restroom sign which directed her to the back of the diner, disappearing from Damon's view.

Damon had only been staring out the window for a couple of minutes when his phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket and looked at the display, Alaric. Putting it to his ear he began to speak, "Ric, what's up?"

"Damon where in hell have you been, I've been trying to get hold of you for hours?"

"Must have been out of signal range."

"Is Elena with you?"

"Yes."

"Jeremy mentioned that you'd been cured. How are you doing?"

"Just peachy Ric, thanks for asking. And how's your day been so far?"

"Well, I went back to my apartment, it's empty now – Klaus and Katherine have long gone."

"I know, they skipped town, we're trying to track Klaus now, he's got Stefan."

"Oh man... Look my apartment was covered in empty blood bags and blood smears. If it wasn't for the empty bags I would have thought someone had been murdered there, it was such a mess."

"Huh," was all Damon said.

"Look, I never saw Klaus or Katherine as a blood binge drinker."

"No me neither. Ric," Damon paused, "I think you've just confirmed my worse fear."

"What's that?"

Damon looked up to see Elena approaching the table.

"Look I can't talk right now. Thanks for calling."

"Wait Damon, don't hang up yet. Look if you're thinking what I think you're thinking…you both could be walking into a very dangerous situation."

"Just a normal day huh!" Damon stated, while nodding to Elena as she sat down opposite him again.

"Damon, this is serious, Elena's your responsibility right now, look after her..." Alaric paused and then added, "For Jenna's sake."

"I will Ric, don't worry. Look I'll speak to you soon."

Damon ended the call and put his phone away.

"What did Alaric want?" Elena asked.

The waitress chose that moment to bring their order over and Elena stared at the tall stack of pancakes that stood in front of her. Damon was pleased that she was momentarily distracted.

"Oh wow, thanks."

"You're welcome Hun; if you need anything else I'll be right over there." She indicated to the counter.

Elena picked up a fork and started to attack the pancakes. After a bite, she looked back at Damon who was sipping his coffee.

He made eye contact with her and quickly asked, "Are the pancakes good?"

"So good," she told him, but she could tell he was trying to change the subject, so she added "Well?"

"Well what?"

She gave him her best frustrated look, "What did Alaric want?"

"Nothing really, just checking up on me, last time he saw me I was a fugitive on the run and about to die, you know…"

Elena sensed he was keeping something from her, but decided not to press the issue further; she would get it out of him sooner or later. She was content at that moment to just enjoy her food and the calm they were currently experiencing. She didn't know what was going to happen when they reached Arcane Creek that evening and she didn't want to dwell on all the possible outcomes.

She caught Damon staring at her and gave him a quizzical look.

In response, he just reached across the table and wiped away a bit of syrup from the corner of her mouth.

Elena grabbed a napkin and with an embarrassed smile quickly muttered "Thanks."

After paying for the breakfast, and thanking the friendly waitress Elena and Damon found themselves back on the road.

* * *

><p>Elena was starting to get fed up of being stuck in the car. Damon had been oddly quiet since breakfast, lost deep in his own thoughts. She had tried to engage him in conversation a couple of times, by asking questions like "So what were you really like in 1864 then?", "What's your best ever memory?", "Where's your most favourite place in the whole world?" But her questions didn't evoke much of a response out of him. She was looking forward to hearing about all Damon's experiences over the years, but he didn't seem willing to share them. He was distracted.<p>

She had managed to get a smile or two out of him when they were fighting over radio stations though.

They had had to make a couple more stops, to top the car up with gas and get supplies. The traffic had been quite good to them, but they had got held up in some of the cities they were passing through. Elena had been very conscious of the delay, but Damon had reassured her that they had plenty of time.

As they started on the final leg of their journey, Elena had only meant to close her eyes for a moment, but fell asleep again against the window. It felt like minutes, but she was woken by the sound of the car engine switching off.

"Are we there?" Elena asked.

"Not yet," Damon simply replied. He then got out of the car and walked away from it. He had parked the car to the side of the road, next to a vast lake.

Elena stared at his retreating form in bewilderment and quickly got out of the car to follow him.

"Damon?" She called after him, but he didn't reply. He stopped at the edge of the lake staring across it, with his back to her. "Damon, I don't understand where are we? Why have we stopped?"

Without facing her he replied, "Lake Pontchartrain, New Orleans is on the other side. We're not far from Arcane Creek now, maybe half an hour."

Elena couldn't understand his melancholy tone, "Okay, so let's get going then, Elijah wanted us there by dusk which must only be an hour away."

"Elena, I need to tell you something first."

Elena felt her heart drop, this couldn't be good.

"I have an idea of what Klaus wants from Stefan, but I didn't want to worry you with it. Except now that we are catching up with them, I think you need to know."

Elena felt herself holding her breath, unsure of what he was about to say. Damon only then turned to face her, pained eyes met hers and Elena realised that this was why Damon had been so quiet; he'd been contemplating his theory.

"I think Klaus has got Stefan back on human blood."

Elena gasped, but didn't interrupt him.

"I think that Stefan may have killed that girl in the storage facility."

She did interrupt then, "No way, he wouldn't have done that."

"Stefan on human blood could have. Elena you know what he was like last year when he started drinking it again, he was dangerous yes, but he's capable of being ten times worse than that. He has a dark history, darker than mine, and if Klaus has woken that part of him…he's capable of anything."

"Why are you telling me this now?"

"Because you deserve to know what we might find when we get there." Damon walked up to her closing the distance between then and gently placed his hands on her shoulders, gazing down into her eyes. "You've got to promise me that you won't trust him, he's not going to be the same person you know and love."

"Damon, I…" Elena didn't know what to say, she didn't want to promise when she didn't believe Stefan could be a monster.

"Elena please."

"Okay, I promise," Elena found herself saying the words, but she wasn't sure she fully meant them.

"Look, my other concern is that since you stopped wearing your necklace you've been relying on drinking vervain. I don't have any on me or in the car. When was the last time you drank vervain?"

"Umm, two days ago I think." The days were starting to blur together Elena noted.

"So you should be okay for another day at least, it takes about three days to leave your system. But, just still promise me you'll be careful."

"Okay." Elena noticed over Damon's shoulder that the sun was getting lower, "We need to go."

Damon nodded and led her back to the car.

* * *

><p>The rest of their journey was made in an eerie silence. As the 'Welcome to Arcane Creek' sign came into view, Elena sat up straight in her seat, suddenly feeling a sense of dread wash over her. A small part of her now understood why Damon wanted her to remain in Mystic Falls.<p>

Damon pulled the car over, to wait in front of the sign.

The silence was starting to become deafening as dusk began to settle over them. Elena was just beginning to think that Elijah had forgotten them, when two black cars approached and pulled over to the side of the road, stopping just in front of them. The cars were clearly brand new and had tinted windows.

The driver's door of the closest car opened and Elijah stepped out, he straightened his suit and turned to face them, giving them an expressionless stare.

"Here we go," Damon whispered.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

They had shared a somewhat brief conversation with Elijah, who had informed them that Klaus had been tracked to a mansion not far away and that they were going to confront him tonight. They were going to rely on the element of surprise to help them gain the upper hand. Damon and Elena had been permitted to accompany them.

They had followed the two cars with a lot of trepidation, eventually turning off the main road and driving along a long driveway. The cars in front switched off their headlights to become invisible in the darkness and Damon mimicked their actions, switching off the convertible's lights. They stopped the cars a good distance from the mansion, but it was in still in full view. The large house stood proud in the middle of its grounds. It was white, with tall columns along the front and a number of steps leading to the main door. The front aspect of the house faced the gardens in front.

Damon and Elena watched as the original family exited the black cars. Elena watched them with fascination, it was the first time she had seen them all. She had expected to see the grand spectacle of them all wearing the different period costumes that Damon had described to her, so she was a little disappointed when the originals had emerged from the cars just wearing dark modern clothes; jeans, tops and jackets.

"I thought you said they were all dressed differently?" She asked Damon.

"Well they were," Damon replied, "clearly they've been shopping."

"I suppose," Elena sounded disappointed.

Damon went to get out of the car but stopped when he noticed Elena was doing the same.

"Oh no, where do you think you're going?" He asked in a stern voice.

"I'm coming with you."

"No, you're not."

"Yes Damon I am."

"No Elena you're not. You agreed to do what I told you to do, and I'm telling you to stay."

"I'm not a dog," she said offended.

"Elena, surely you realise the danger of all this by now. Please stay in the car."

Elena didn't look happy, but took her hand off the door and sunk back into her seat. She resisted the urge to cross her arms and pout her lip.

"Fine," she surrendered.

"Good girl. Now lock the doors after I'm out." He showed her the lock on the driver's door to make his point. He then got out of the car and went to close the door, but Elena spoke.

"Damon, what are you going to do when you see Stefan?"

He paused and lent back into the car to look at her, "I don't know yet, but I'll think of something. Lock the doors," he repeated. He shut his door and bent over to stare at her through the window until she reached over and locked his door from the inside. Straightening up he walked over to Elijah, patting his jacket as he went to make sure he still had his only weapon on him.

"Is Elena not joining us," Elijah asked.

"No, she's staying put."

"Hmm, why did you bring her along Damon?"

"'Bring' isn't exactly the word I'd use to describe it. She was coming along one way or another."

"She is certainly strong willed."

"She is that," Damon agreed.

"Right then, shall we get this started?" Elijah asked, he showed no sign of unease about what they were about to do.

"What's the plan anyway?" Damon asked curiously.

"We walk through the front door."

"Oh of course, why didn't I think of that," Damon replied sarcastically.

"Actually, you will enter the house first and locate Klaus; the rest of us won't be far behind you."

"What?" Damon asked surprised, "I'm just a bystander remember, I was going to follow you. You know, you do your thing with Klaus and then I'll swoop in afterwards to rescue Stefan."

"To maintain the element of surprise, Klaus needs to be distracted first and what better way to distract him than with you?" It was a rhetorical question, Elijah didn't expect Damon to agree or disagree.

"Perfect," Damon muttered. "You do realise I'm no match for Klaus right? I'm not willing to kill myself before I get a chance to save Stefan."

"You only need to provoke him long enough to distract him." Elijah could see that Damon still doubted his plan, so added "If you don't do this, I would hate anything to happen to the lovely Elena over there."

Damon looked back over to his car, then back to Elijah. "Is that a threat?"

"Merely an observation."

Literally out of options, Damon realised he had no choice. "If you betray me while I'm in there I'll kill you."

"If you're dead you won't have the chance now will you. But you will agree to do this, for your brother, for her."

"Fine."

Damon turned and walked towards the house. He walked by the rest of the original family, but they didn't even acknowledge him. As he began to ascend the steps in front of the mansion, he heard Elijah call out to him, so turned back to look at him.

"Oh and Damon, don't do anything stupid."

Damon wanted to retort back that he thought this whole plan was stupid, but unusually for him he remained silent. Elijah might not be anxious about this plan, but Damon certainly was. Elijah was keeping something from him and he didn't trust him one bit. Damon turned back to walk to the front door. He tried the handle on the door and it opened with ease and he took one step inside. Clearly no one living resided in the house as Damon took another uninvited step into the grand hallway which greeted him. The hallway was larger that the library back at the boarding house, it was full of antique objects on display from vases to statues, and had a grand staircase leading upstairs. The walls were as white as the outside of the building and as he walked he was stepping across a marble floor.

Damon carefully began a search of the mansion, quietly checking each room for any sign of Klaus or Stefan. As he neared the rear of the property he entered a nearly dark corridor, the only light coming from a crack in a doorway. As Damon silently approached the door he could clearly make out Klaus' voice.

"Now my lovelies, it won't be long now before you reach your full potential."

Damon ever so carefully peered through the crack in the doorway. He could see Klaus in the middle of the room, with two people lying at his feet writhing around in agony. Klaus had at least four vampires stationed around the outskirts of the room, presumably acting as guards. He was disappointed when he realised Stefan was not among them.

All of a sudden he noticed a shift in Klaus' posture and Klaus spoke unexpectedly, "Didn't your mother ever teach you it's rude to eavesdrop… Damon."

Damon was surprised that he had been discovered so quickly, but with no longer any reason to hide, he pushed the door open and came face to face with Klaus. The other vampires in the room immediately went on alert and stood facing Damon with killer looks in their eyes, they were just waiting for Klaus' order to take him down.

Trying to ignore the immediate threat, Damon spoke out confidently "I would ask how you knew I was there, but I'm not sure I want to know the answer."

"It's a wolf-vamp thing, all my senses are heightened, you can't even begin to comprehend what I'm now capable of," he boasted. "What are you doing here? I warned you not to interfere; does your life really mean so little to you?"

"Well you know me, I never listen. Where's Stefan?"

Klaus ignored the question. "Do you realise I've taken away everyone you love," he stated smugly, "I killed Elena, drained her of her blood, a girl who was never yours to love." Damon kept his expression neutral, not letting Klaus in on the fact that Elena was very much alive. Klaus continued, "And then I took away Stefan, so that he could become my blood brother. You have no one left Damon, you can't possibly survive alone."

"Trying to taunt me won't work. I'm not interested in you, your mind games or even your plans for world domination. I only came for my brother."

"A decision you will soon regret."

Klaus advanced towards Damon and painfully pinned him against the wall, pressing his arm against Damon's neck.

"You ungrateful bastard, you owe me your life. Do you realise that?"

Confused, a questioning look appeared on Damon's face.

"Haven't you worked it out yet? It was my blood that saved you; I was the cure for the wolf bite. Stefan knew what he was doing when he made a deal with me to save your pathetic life. You on the other hand haven't thought this out at all have you? I'm going to kill you Damon; you're such a liability that you're of no use to me. When you are dead, your brother's deal would've been for nothing, yet he will remain at my side reeking havoc for an eternity." Klaus gave Damon a smug look and leaned in further, applying more pressure again Damon's neck. "It was extremely foolish of you to come here alone tonight Damon."

"You're heightened senses must be malfunctioning," Damon croaked out, just managing to speak despite the painful pressure against his neck.

Klaus looked confused by Damon's comment, but then heard, "He didn't come alone." Klaus immediately turned his head to see Elijah standing behind him. Klaus actually began to look a little threatened as his gaze scanned the room. Instead of his guards, the room was now filled with his entire family, the vampire guards lay dead at their feet. Klaus turned his attention back to Elijah.

"But you were in the coffins, damned to an eternity of nothingness. Who let you out?" As if answering his own question he looked back to Damon, who he still had pinned against the wall.

"That would be me," Damon wheezed with a satisfied grin.

"Urghhhh," Klaus threw Damon to the floor and advanced towards Elijah, but before he reached him Klaus grabbed his head and doubled over in pain.

Slowly, one by one, each member of the original family closed in on Klaus, focusing hard on him.

Damon watched transfixed from his position on the floor. They appeared to be using some form of mind control on Klaus, similar to what he could do when he entered someone's dreams, but this was a collective power being used to reach the same goal - pain. They were even more powerful together; presumably one of the original's many unknown abilities. They continued to advance on Klaus, circling him, until he had collapsed to the floor.

Elijah broke away from the circle and pulled out something sharp and shiny from his pocket.

"Niklaus, you locked away and hid our family for centuries, subjecting them and later me to a fate worse than death. How will we ever repay you for that?"

"You can't hold me like this forever," Klaus seemed overly confident that his luck was about to change and he would overthrow his family any minute.

"You are right, as always Niklaus, but we need to decide as a family the most effective way of punishing you."

"I always have a back up plan," Klaus announced and then he started to shake and his eyes became electric yellow. But before the transformation was complete and before Klaus had a chance to strike at them in his werewolf form, Elijah struck the object he was holding into the back of Klaus' neck. Klaus roared in pain and then fell limply onto his back in silence. His eyes reverted back to their normal colour and he remained in human form.

Elijah crouched down beside his brother and spoke gently, "The spike now imbedded at the top of your spine was created especially for you, it will immobilise you until we decide how to proceed."

One of Elijah's older brothers then broke away from the rest of the originals and walked over to the two people who were still writhing about on the floor. He studied them and spoke across the room to Elijah, "This isn't normal transitioning; Niklaus was turning them into hybrids."

"Kill them," Elijah ordered, and without hesitation his brother ripped their heads off.

Damon picked himself off the floor and then walked over to join Elijah who now stood staring down at Klaus. Klaus remained completely frozen, but he was still conscious and watched them intently.

"Ah the old spike in the neck trick huh?" Damon joked, but then said seriously, "You could have let me in on that part of the plan you know. Why is he like that anyway? Can he hear us?"

"Yes, the spike has merely paralysed his movements, he's fully aware of his surroundings, but is essentially a prisoner in his own body. We'll keep him like this until we can decide what to do with him."

"Why didn't you just use one of the daggers he used on you?" Damon asked.

"It wouldn't have worked on Klaus due to his werewolf half." He turned to look at Damon for the first time, who was absentmindedly rubbing his neck from the hold Klaus had had on him moments earlier, "Damon, I suggest you find Stefan before my siblings do."

Damon gave Klaus' guards and hybrids a quick glance, all of which were now dead at the hands of Elijah's family. Not wanting Stefan to reach the same fate, he quickly nodded to Elijah and exited the room and resumed his search of the mansion.

After searching the various floors of the house, Damon hadn't found Stefan or even any indication that Stefan had actually been in the mansion. Giving up with the building entirely, he walked through the large hallway and out the front door. Damon scanned the grounds that lay in front of him and his eyes fell on his car. He could see that the passenger door was wide open, so ran to it at vampire speed and with increasing horror realised Elena was gone.

"Damn it Elena."

Damon frantically looked around the car for any sign of her, but couldn't see anything. Looking across the grounds he managed to catch sight of some movement in the distance and ran towards it. He entered an ornate garden that had sculpted hedgerows and a large fountain at the centre. The area was lit by the lights around the fountain. As he went round the fountain he stopped dead in his tracks. He had caught sight of what he feared most. Stefan was stood with his back to him; he held Elena in a tight embrace, feeding from her exposed neck.

"Stefan stop," Damon commanded.

Stefan immediately ceased and spun both him and Elena round to face Damon. Damon met Elena's eyes, she was fighting the battle to lose consciousness, but he could see the terrified look in the depths of her eyes. Stefan held her tightly, with one unforgiving hand digging into her throat. He could easily snap her neck before Damon got to her. Damon could see the full extent of the damage Stefan had done to her neck, Elena was going to die if he didn't act quickly.

"Let her go." Damon gestured with his hands to indicate Stefan should pass Elena to him.

"Brother, what a surprise." Stefan spoke in a deeper tone than Damon was used to, an evil tone.

"What the hell do you think you are doing, this is Elena?" Damon tried to reason with him.

"You should have seen her brother, she came running over to me like we were long lost lovers; she got a nasty shock I can tell you. Hmmm, she looked so mouth-watering I couldn't resist, her blood was calling to me."

"Give her to me."

"You know what, you are absolutely right, we are family after all and we should share. Don't you want a taste? Just imagine what her blood tastes like." But Stefan abruptly stopped speaking and sniffed the air. He then buried his head into Elena's neck, Damon feared he was going to bite her again and took a couple more steps towards them getting ready to intervene, but Stefan just inhaled her scent deeply and pulled away. Stefan then continued speaking, "But, perhaps you don't have to image brother, you've already tasted her blood haven't you? I can smell your scent on her," he looked across at Damon and with a knowing smile added, "In fact I can even sense her blood in your system now."

"Let her go," Damon repeated, ignoring his comments.

"If you don't want to share her, then I suppose she's all mine," Stefan said with an evil smile.

Stefan bared his fangs and moved in to attack Elena's neck again, she screamed as his fangs brutally sank into her neck.

Damon advanced on Stefan and collided with him. Using the force of the impact, he knocked all three of them to the hard ground. Momentarily surprised, Stefan had released his grip on Elena, and Damon pushed her out of Stefan's grasp. Damon quickly locked one hand round Stefan's throat and with the other laid several hard punches to Stefan's face.

Damon's element of surprise quickly ran out and Stefan flipped them both over with ease. Mirroring his brother's actions, he hit Damon in the face repeatedly. Stopping after a few more moments to speak to Damon, "Now brother, we both know who's stronger and who's going to win this fight." He laid another hard punch to Damon's face to prove his point; Damon's head whipped to the side and he spat blood out of his mouth. "You've allowed yourself to become weak," Stefan taunted, "You've become what I use to be, useless."

Studying his brother, Stefan suddenly thought of an idea, "I tell you what, why don't you come with me? It'll be like old times – the unstoppable Salvatore brothers. Isn't that what you always wanted? All we have to do is finish this one off," he said indicating Elena.

Damon finally turned his head back to look at his brother towering above him, not able to even comprehend the fact that he had just suggested killing Elena. Defiantly he replied, "No."

"Oh well, go to hell then," and Stefan proceeded to squeeze Damon's neck, determined to separate Damon's head from his body.

Fighting for survival, Damon could just about move his right hand to the pocket inside his jacket, where his fingers found and grabbed the stake he had hidden there. Hoping to buy a few minutes to grab Elena and get away from Stefan, he stuck the stake deep into his brother's chest.

Stefan immediately dropped his grip on Damon's neck and reared back in agony. Damon rolled out from under him, but he didn't even get a chance to reach Elena. Stefan recovered quicker than Damon had been expecting, he was now stronger than ever and Damon had purposely missed his heart. Stefan pulled the stake out and casually walked over to where Damon lay on the floor as if nothing had happened. Looking his brother in the eye he positioned the stake above Damon's heart.

"Goodbye brother," Stefan stated without emotion.

Damon's eyes immediately turned to Elena, if he wanted to have any last view on this earth, it would be of her. She was lying not that far away, but she was unconscious. Her hair covered part of her face, and she had one hand lying to her side pointing in his direction. He drank in the sight of her and then regrettably slowly slid his eyelids shut to wait for death. He had failed Elena and he had failed Stefan, he wasn't able to save either of them.

Moments passed, but the death blow never came. Opening his eyes again, Damon looked at Stefan. Damon could see that Stefan had become distracted; following his gaze he saw Elijah and the original family exiting the mansion and dragging Klaus with them.

Obviously fearing the originals and the fact they had taken down Klaus, he heard Stefan say "Another time brother." Damon looked back in time to see Stefan drop the stake and disappear in the blink of an eye.

Wasting no time, Damon crawled over to Elena's side. Her skin was deathly pale and he could hear her heartbeat begin to slow.

"Elena, come on open your eyes," his voice wavered with panic. "Elena, please look at me."

At the sound of his voice, Elena slowly blinked her eyes and focused a heavy lidded gaze on him.

'I'm sorry', she mouthed, but no sound came out.

"Don't worry 'bout it."

He pulled her hair away from her neck to reveal the grotesque wound where Stefan had ripped into her. Unable to comprehend his brother's actions; he quickly looked back into Elena's eyes.

"Elena, honey, listen to me, you're dying," he was being blunt with her and he could see the fear rapidly entering her eyes. "I can't get you to a hospital quick enough… you've lost too much blood."

He closed his eyes, rubbing them with his thumb and forefinger. He rested his digits at the bridge of his nose and finally resolved on asking, "You have to let me heal you," opening his eyes again he looked at her, he moved his hands to rest beside her but didn't want to touch her while he asked her this. "I can heal you, but I won't do it without your permission, you have to ask me, I won't force my blood on you again."

'Do it,' she mouthed.

Damon gave a quick nod; he immediately vamped out and bit into his wrist. As the blood began to flow from the wound he pressed it against her lips and Elena used what energy she had left to drink from him.

Damon had feared that he had taken too long to get to her, as she slowly drank, rather than gulped it down as if her life depended on it. But she was taking it in her own time and it was slowly working through her. When she had had enough, Damon pulled his wrist away and wiped the smeared blood from her mouth. Checking her neck he could see that his blood had started to mend the damage.

"Thank you," she whispered, finding her voice again.

"You're welcome," he said with a relieved smile.

Exhausted, Elena closed her eyes again. Damon shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it round her. He then placed one arm under her knees and the other round her back, and gently lifted her off the ground. Elena wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against the crook of his neck.

"I'm never letting you out of my sight ever again," Damon muttered in Elena's ear and she gave him a small smile in return.

As he carried her away from the fountain he couldn't believe they had both escaped alive. He only hoped they were both as lucky next time.

Walking straight by Elijah, who stared curiously at Elena in his arms, he approached his car. The door was still open. Juggling Elena in his arms he carefully moved the front seat forward, so he could access the back of the car, and he carefully laid Elena across the back seat. Instead of leaving her straight away he hovered slightly above her.

"You okay?"

"I will be," she replied simply.

He looked deep into her eyes and satisfied that she would be okay for a few minutes, he backed out of the car, moved the seat back and shut the door behind him.

Damon hadn't heard him approach, but he knew he was standing closer than he was a moment ago. He turned to look at Elijah.

"Were you Successful?" Elijah asked.

"He got away."

"Pity." Elijah didn't look like it mattered to him one way or another and added, "This is where we must part."

"That's it; you're just going to leave?" Damon asked incredulously.

"I got what I came for. I have my brother. My responsibility now is to deal with him as it is your responsibility to deal with yours."

"Are you forgetting it is because of your brother that Stefan is like this?"

"Not my concern. Goodbye Damon, I'm sure our paths will cross at some point in the future."

Elijah stretched out his hand to offer a handshake, but Damon just stared at it, refusing to take it. Not fazed, Elijah withdrew his hand and turned to walk back to his family.

Damon watched him go for a couple of minutes, shaking his head in disbelief. He then walked round the front of his car, opened the driver's door and sat behind the wheel. He slammed the door closed in frustration.

"Damn it," he yelled.

Elena gave him a moment to calm down and then asked him quietly from the back seat, "So what now?"

"I don't know Elena. I suppose we head back to Mystic Falls."

"Give up, just like that?"

"Of course not, but what can we do? We can't go on an aimless road trip to nowhere for no reason. If we go back to Mystic Falls I will have more resources at my disposable and **I** can track him from there." Elena didn't miss the fact that he had put emphasis on the 'I', he then continued talking, "Besides, I need to get you home in one piece. And, when we get back we need to see if Bonnie can respell the houses to prevent any unwanted visitors."

"But this is Stefan, Damon, not some unwanted visitor."

"Your wrong Elena, this isn't Stefan. You more than anyone should realise that after tonight."

Silence descended on the car. After a moment, Damon turned the ignition on and they drove away from the mansion.

* * *

><p>Realising he couldn't leave Elena on the back seat of his moving car all night while recovering from her injuries, he pulled into the parking lot of the first motel he could find. While Elena slept on the back seat, he stopped the car by the motel's office to pay for a room; keeping an eye on the car and Elena the entire time. Once he had the key he moved the car closer to the room.<p>

Damon stared at Elena's sleeping form; she had been through so much. Taking care not to wake her, he lifted her out of the car and carried her up to the room. Carefully balancing her in his arms he opened the door and carried Elena inside. Turning back to the door he kicked it shut with his foot and locked it behind them. He gently set Elena down on the bed, on top of the covers. He went to move away, but Elena grabbed his wrist and pulled him close to her.

"Please stay with me."

"Give me two seconds," he said.

Elena unwillingly dropped her grip on his wrist and Damon walked over to the curtains, haphazardly pulling them across the window. He then walked back over to the bed and without hesitation sat with his back against the headboard. He pulled Elena into his arms and she rested her head against his chest.

"I'm so sorry Damon," she whispered.

"It's okay," he reassured.

"No, it's not. I don't know what I was thinking, I just saw him come out of the house and all I could see was Stefan. My Stefan. I completely forgot about your warning and ran after him. But it wasn't him, not really."

Damon didn't know what else to say to comfort her, so just settled for rubbing her back in a soothing motion.

"It's over isn't it?" She asked in a quiet voice.

"What?"

"Me and Stefan, our relationship."

"Elena I can't make that decision for you, but he's not the man you fell in love with anymore."

"Will he ever be again?"

"I hope so, but I just don't know. The longer this goes on the harder it'll be for him to return to his old self." Damon started to think about the fight he'd just had with his brother, he'd had a chance to end this and to stake Stefan in the heart, but he couldn't do it. There had to be a way to reach the old Stefan, he had to be in there somewhere. Damon couldn't help but think how ironic this whole situation was; for years he had been trying to get Stefan to give in to his darker side and when it finally happened Damon had found himself on the good side. How did that happen? He looked down at Elena, who was fighting sleep, and immediately got his answer. Steering away from where his thoughts had taken him, he said aloud, "Try to get some sleep okay, it's been a long day and we're safe now."

Elena closed her eyes and held onto Damon tightly. Exhausted they soon fell asleep in each other's arms, comforted by each other's presence.

It went unnoticed by both of them; but through a gap in the curtains they were being watched by a figure outside, concealed by the shadows.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

He could feel the anger inside of him, feel the rage burning. Seeing her pressed against him, with their arms tightly wrapped around each other; he couldn't fully understand everything he was feeling, but he knew he felt betrayed and angry, very angry. This wasn't the way it was supposed to be. He could feel his whole body begin to shake, could feel the snarl building up from deep within his chest, and could feel his fangs begin to descend. He focused on the door to the room and positioned his shoulder at an angle ready to knock it off its hinges, but he suddenly stopped. The wind had blown a scent in his direction - it was delicious.

Turning around, his senses on full alert, he zeroed his eyes on a young woman who had emerged from a nearby room. She had earphones in, listening to music while filling a bucket full of ice from the motel's ice dispenser. Her back to the predator, she never saw or heard him strike; her mouth was smothered before she had a chance to scream.

The source of the predator's rage, the couple in the room, were forgotten about for the time being.

* * *

><p>Damon woke in the middle of the night; his body was telling him he needed to feed. The encounter with Stefan had taken its toll and he needed to regain some strength. The room was dimly lit by the lamp on the night stand and he looked down to see Elena still asleep in his arms. Rest was doing her good and she had colour back in her cheeks.<p>

They had come so close to dying.

Not wanting to think about what almost happened, Damon carefully shrugged out of Elena's grip and laid her head against the pillow. He pulled the edge of the blanket over her so she wouldn't get cold and then silently moved towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Elena quietly asked.

Damn he had woken her. He turned back to look at her from across the room.

"Out, I won't be long. I'll lock the door behind me and I won't be far. Go back to sleep."

But Elena sat up in bed.

"When was the last time you fed?" She asked.

"Back at the boarding house, the hallway…" Damon didn't need to elaborate they both remembered clearly enough.

"Damon you need to look after yourself."

"No correction, I have to look after you." He gave her a pointed look.

"Don't you have any more blood bags?"

With a sigh he moved back to the bed and sat down on the edge.

"No, I gave the only ones I had to Elijah and co. Besides, ever since the wolf bite I haven't been able to stomach blood from a bag, it tastes stale. I wouldn't be able to drink it even if I did have any. It could just be a temporary thing, but I only seem to be able to tolerate fresh, warm flowing blood, direct from a source."

"You don't think that has anything to do with the werewolf infection do you? You don't think you'll turn into a were-vamp like Klaus?" she asked horrified.

"No, I don't think that's going to happen, even with the fact that the cure was Klaus' blood by the way." She looked shocked at the revelation. "I know, disgusting isn't it, I'm going to have to wash my mouth out with bourbon for weeks." He smiled at her. "Nah, I think you would need to be human, bitten by Klaus, drink his blood and then killed to become a hybrid, or at least that's my theory. That's what it looked like he was doing back at the mansion anyway. It seems way too much effort if you ask me." He stared at his hands rather than Elena and his voice grew quieter, "It's just… I almost died from that werewolf bite and I think it would be foolish of me to think I got away with a clean bill of health. I'm just grateful I'm still here and I've been given another chance," he risked a look over in her direction; "if this is the only side effect then I'll take it."

He got up and moved back to the door, "I'm going out hunting."

"For what?" She asked with fearful concern.

"I don't know, maybe I can find a tasty sorority girl," he replied sarcastically.

"Damon…" she scolded.

"Relax Elena; this poky little town probably doesn't have any anyway."

"Damon…" she warned again.

"Okay, fine, on the menu tonight 'Bunnies with fluffy white tails' then…yum!" he stated with false excitement.

"Will that be enough, to take him on?" She asked in a quiet voice.

"It'll have to be. I won't be long."

"Damon wait," she threw the blanket off, got out of bed and walked over to face him, "You need to be at full strength, drink from me," she instructed without any hesitation.

"No absolutely not." He grabbed both of her arms and pushed her away from him, keeping a safe distance between them.

"You've done it before."

"That was different, I was half dying and you practically forced yourself on me." In normal circumstances he would have found that last bit of his statement amusing, but he was completely serious now.

Elena moved forward until they were almost touching, she moved the hair away from her neck and arched it.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Drink me."

"This isn't Alice in Wonderland Elena, it's too dangerous. You're still recovering from Stefan's attack."

"I feel fine, but you need this. Bunnies aren't going to be enough and what you need is stood directly in front of you. You need me Damon."

"No."

"This is bigger than you and me, this is the only way you are going to be able to stop him."

Damon knew she was telling the truth, but he couldn't.

"Fine, but let me go and find some unsuspecting person, I can compel them and heal them afterwards with my blood, they will never even know what happened."

"No." It was Elena's turn to disagree, "I can't let you do that Damon, I know you, you might not want to admit it but you've changed, that isn't who you are anymore, you won't be able to forgive yourself afterwards. Let me do this for you, I'm willing and I trust you with my life."

He couldn't argue with her any further; her neck arched the way it was, her close proximity, her willingness, her trust. He felt his eyes shift and his fangs lowered. They stood so close, staring back at one another. Elena didn't recoil at the sight of the vampire in front of her; she stood there unwavering with no fear in her eyes. She raised her right hand to his cheek and ran her thumb over the protruding veins near his eyes. Damon reluctantly broke eye contact with her and ever so slowly lowered his lips to her neck. He bit into her neck and started to drink. Elena gasped and moved her hand to curl round the back of Damon's neck, holding him tightly.

Elena could feel their balance begin to falter and they suddenly fell backwards onto the bed together. Damon continued to feed, but adjusted his weight so he didn't crush her. Elena's eyes closed, but she wasn't in pain, instead she felt contented and safe. The feelings she had for Damon, which she had buried deep inside, slowly began to push to the surface.

Damon fed until it was no longer safe for Elena to continue; he withdrew his fangs and gently kissed her neck over the bite. He then looked down at her. Sensing his gaze, Elena opened her eyes to meet his. He could tell she was getting groggy, so he brought his wrist up to his fangs and bit into it, a gush of blood ran to the surface. He turned his wrist and offered it to Elena. It would have to be her choice again and he wouldn't force it against her lips. She slowly raised her head and hesitantly locked her lips around his wrist and began to drink; the bite on her neck began to heal.

Once she was fully healed, Damon pulled his wrist away. His fangs retreated and his features returned to normal. He smoothed Elena's hair and looked into her eyes. He desperately wanted to kiss her on the lips, but instead settled for kissing her on the forehead instead.

Damon returned to look at her face and Elena focused her eyes on his lips. She could sense something inside her changing; looking up at him mere inches away she couldn't help but want to kiss him. But it felt too soon, she still needed time to work out everything that was going on in her life. She knew that Damon was fully aware of that to, he wasn't going to pressurise her.

After a moment, Damon rolled off her and pulled her up the bed so their heads were resting on the pillows.

Watching him intently, Elena reached for his hand to maintain contact. Unable to maintain the intense gaze for long, they both quickly fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Damon picked up the blood stained blanket from the bed and stared at it; he couldn't believe Elena had offered her blood so willingly. His life wasn't in danger and there was an alternative source of blood scurrying around in the woods somewhere, but that hadn't stopped her. She had offered herself in an attempt to increase his strength and increase their chances if they ran into Stefan again. At least that's what his head was telling him, though his heart couldn't help but think of its own reasons why she did it. Throwing the blanket back down on the bed he turned to Elena as she walked past him towards the bathroom. They hadn't mentioned the exchange they shared in the night, so he settled for saying, "We need to get going."<p>

"I just need to take a quick shower."

"Quick?"

"Yeah really quick, I won't be five/ten minutes I promise."

Damon rolled his eyes as Elena disappeared into the bathroom.

Hearing the water start to run in the bathroom, Damon walked over to the main door of the motel room. He unlocked it and opened the door and was welcomed by the warm morning sunlight. He took a step outside and breathed in a breath of fresh air.

His peaceful moment was soon interrupted as he quickly realised he wasn't alone; the motel was swarming with Police. On seeing him exit his motel room one of the officers approached Damon.

"Excuse me Sir", the Officer said as he approached.

"What's happened?" Damon enquired.

"A lady was killed last night, it looks like an animal attack, but we can't let any of the guests leave until we've questioned you. Please go back and wait in your room Sir."

"Of course Officer," Damon agreed, full of false politeness.

He made a move to go back into the room and the Officer walked away. But before Damon stepped completely back into the room, his eyes followed the retreating Officer and focused on the main commotion at the far end of the Motel complex. His sharp eyes narrowed in on the body which was now lying in an unzipped body bag. Despite the distance, Damon could smell the blood and could see the woman's mulled throat. Damon took a few minutes to cast his eyes around the surrounding landscape before stepping back into the room.

He shut the door behind him. He could no longer hear the sound of running water coming from the bathroom. He walked over to the door and knocked lightly. "Elena I think we've been followed," he spoke through the door.

Elena opened the door, she was fully dressed again and rubbing her wet hair with a towel.

"What did you say?"

Damon, who was momentarily stunned by her appearance, forgot what he said and whispered "You're beautiful" under his breath.

"Thank you, I think I look like the living dead personally, no offense."

"None taken," he said with a smile.

"I'll be glad to get back home, all these road trip near death experiences don't agree with me." She started to move about the room to pick up the few possessions she had with her.

"Ah, then you're not going to like what I'm about to say."

Turning her focus back on him, "Damon, what's wrong?"

"Elena we're being followed."

"What? By who?" She sounded panicked.

Before Damon had a chance to answer, they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Damon sighed and walked over to the door to open it; standing on the other side was the Officer he had spoken with earlier.

The Officer acknowledged Damon and then noticed Elena, "I'm sorry to interrupt you nice folks, I just have a few questions and then you can be on your way."

"Of course Officer, anything we can do to help," Damon replied.

The Officer took a step into the room and pulled a notepad out of his pocket, "Sad, sad business. The young lady who died last night was on her way to start college. She was getting some ice to chill a bottle of wine by the looks of it. The wine's still sat in her room, a tag on it from her friends wishing her all the best. But I digress, right then questions…" he looked at the questions he had written down. But as his eyes raised to Damon's, out of the corner of his eye he saw the blood stained blanket on the bed. Springing into action he pulled his gun from its holster and aimed at Damon.

"Put your hands where I can see them mister."

"Officer, you've got this all wrong," Elena pleaded, but she was just met by having the gun pointed at her instead.

Damon used the distraction and knocked the gun out of his hand. He shoved him up against the wall, causing it to shake and knock one of the pictures to the floor, the glass in the frame smashed.

"Listen to me, you will leave this room and will forget everything about this encounter. You will not remember either of us, do you understand?" Damon compelled him.

"I understand."

"Now put your gun back in its lovely holster and go and make your enquires elsewhere."

The Officer bent down, picked up his gun and put it away; he then walked out of the room without a second glance at Damon or Elena.

Looking back to Elena, "We need to go now." Damon quickly rolled up the blood soaked blanket and put it under his arm, and Elena quickly picked up her jacket and possessions. Damon grabbed her hand and quickly led her from the room, heading straight for the car. Elena allowed herself to be led away, but as they exited the room she caught a glimpse of all the Police outside and the eerie image of a body bag being lifted into a van. "Damon what happened?"

"Stefan. He followed us."

"What he's here?" They reached the car and Damon unlocked it, he left Elena at the passenger's side and he rushed around to the driver's side. But instead of getting in the car Elena turned and looked around the motel, looking for Stefan.

Damon sighed, "Get in the car Elena," he ordered.

Elena turned to look at him over the roof of the car. He could tell she was scared, his voice softened, "Elena, we have to get moving."

She just nodded at him and got in the car. Once he was sure she was in, Damon also got in. He threw the blanket on the back seat without looking and then quickly drove away.

Once they were on their way, Elena voiced her concerns, "He can't follow us back to Mystic Falls in his current state; otherwise we'll be putting the whole town at risk."

"I know. But, we need a plan and we need to come up with one fast."

"Do you think he's tracking us now?" Elena asked fearfully.

He could lie to her to make her feel better, but ultimately she would need to know the truth, "Yes, I'm sure he is." He paused for a long while thinking and then spoke, "Look, if Stefan and I get into another fight we'll be equally matched, now that I have your blood in my system." He risked a quick look at her. "But I need to have the edge over him, and I don't have anything other than a stake."

"We can't kill him Damon."

"I don't want to." He suddenly thought of an alternative, "Look I think I know where I can get some vervain, but it's a bit of a drive in the wrong direction."

"But vervain will only take him down for a few minutes."

"I know, but that will hopefully be enough to talk to him."

"It's too dangerous, there's no guarantee it'll work," she argued.

"I know, but I don't see any other option."

She thought about it, but couldn't think of an alternative plan either. "Okay," she agreed reluctantly.

"Okay."

* * *

><p>Damon pulled the car up outside a seedy, dark and depressing building. Elena frowned at the sight of it.<p>

"What is this place?" She asked.

"Well technically it's a night club, but it's run by vampires and has a certain clientele."

"Oh."

"Look, I would leave you in the car while I went in, but we all know how well that always turns out. So you're coming with me."

"Damon, I'm not so sure that's a good idea," she replied uncertain.

"Trust me; I'm not going to let you out of my sight and I won't let anyone hurt you again. Besides it's midday, the place will be mostly empty." He could tell she was not happy about the idea, but he wasn't going to leave her in the car alone again. "Come on," he said just before getting out of the car.

Elena reluctantly yanked her seat belt off and got out of the car, slamming the car door shut a little harder than she had intended. "I'm not sure about this Damon," she repeated.

"Relax, Elena, I'll be at your side the entire time." To make his point, he grabbed her right hand with his left and they walked into the building together.

Elena allowed Damon to continue holding her hand because she grew comfort from the contact. The club was as depressing looking inside as it was out, and it was definitely decorated by a vampire. The place was lit by elaborate gold candelabras. The upholstered chairs and booths were a blood red colour and the walls were black, though in contrast the floor was a striking ivory colour which, in their current setting, reminded Elena of bones. She felt a chill go down her spine and moved closer to Damon. He gave her a concerned look, but she gave him a small reassuring smile to carry on.

The place was pretty much empty except for a booth in the far corner. A man, or vampire Elena assumed, was lounging in the middle of a half-moon shaped booth with his feet propped up on the table in front of him. He had his arms wrapped round the back of the booth and around two young women in very revealing outfits. From the puncture marks all over the women's bodies, Elena assumed they were human and assumed they were compelled. The vampire currently had his head buried in one of the woman's neck.

Damon coughed subtly, "Ahem."

The vampire pulled away from the woman and stared at his unexpected guests. His facial features changed from irritated to recognition, "Damon, my man."

"Ambrogio."

"Damon you know better than to call me that," he replied annoyed.

"Sorry Gio."

"That's better, we've got to keep up with the times, 'Ambrogio' doesn't exactly roll off the tongue these days you know."

Gio sprung up out of his seat and approached Damon with lightning speed; he grabbed Damon's free right hand and gave him a solid handshake.

"Where have you been? I haven't seen or heard of you in ages," Gio asked enthusiastically.

"Been keeping a low profile," Damon replied.

Gio looked over to see Elena, hidden slightly behind Damon. "Is this the reason? Still human? Nice, I'm sure she'll make a beautiful vampire when you turn her."

"It's not like that," Damon tried to explain.

Gio suddenly rushed to Elena's side, making her jump at the unexpected move. He brushed her hair away from her neck and Elena recoiled back towards Damon.

"Do you mind if I have a taste then?" The question was directed at Damon, not Elena.

"I mind," Damon moved Elena out of Gio's reach and stood firmly between them.

"Oh Well, never mind." Gio gave Elena a disappointed looked, but retreated back to his booth and resumed his previous position between the two women.

"Hey, do you remember those underwear model twins we turned back in the eighties?" Gio asked. "Man they were so hot."

"They never call, they never write," Damon replied.

"Damn shame that is, maybe it's time I should look them up," Gio looked like he was suddenly deep in thought, lost in his own fantasy.

Damon tried to get the situation back on track, "Look Gio, this isn't a social call; I need to cash in that favour you owe me."

"You're never going to let me forget that you saved my life are you?"

"Nope. Face it, you'd be ash right now if it wasn't for me."

"Hmm… what can I do for you?"

"I need vervain, as much as you have."

"Didn't realise you were into self-torture Damon?"

"It's not for me you idiot, look I haven't got time to explain, do you have any or not?"

"What makes you think I have some anyway? I'd be mad to keep the stuff; do you know what it does to vampires?"

"Exactly why I need it, look I know you keep it."

"Okay fine, but only because we're such good pals and I owe you."

Gio got up again and went behind the bar. He moved a good number of liquor bottles out of the way to reveal a safe hidden behind them. He opened it and took out a large vial of clear liquid.

"Oh I need a syringe or dart as well," Damon added.

"You're getting demanding in your old age you know," Gio replied. He looked back over to Damon with a smile, but was met by a frown. "You're losing your humour too apparently. Fine, I have just the thing here." After shutting the safe again and moving the bottles back into place, he walked over to Damon and handed him the vervain along with a syringe with a very long needle point.

"Here you go; this is all I've got."

"Thanks, this should be enough," Damon said assessing the amount of liquid he held and summing it up for the task he needed it for.

"This makes us even now right?" Gio asked, gesturing back and forth between him and Damon with his finger.

"We're even."

"Great, see you around D."

"Yeah," Damon replied.

Gio walked back to the booth and began feeding off the woman again. Elena made a move forward, she wanted to help the compelled women, but Damon quickly stood in her path shaking his head. "Leave it, he's stronger than he looks," he whispered. "Shall we get out of here?"

"Yes please," she replied hastily.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

They drove for a little while; they had left the cities behind them and were now driving on a mostly deserted road which weaved through a forest.

"Elena I'm going to find somewhere to stop in a moment and we'll try to put an end to this. The last thing I want to do is put you in harm's way, but I don't see another option."

"I'll be fine Damon and like you said before you won't let anyone hurt me again."

Damon looked across to her and smiled at the faith she had in him, though he wasn't sure he deserved it. Looking back to the road he spotted a good place to stop, so pulled the car over. He parked it on a dirt track alongside the main road. Once the engine was off, Damon pulled out the vervain and syringe. He handed Elena the vervain, "Drink some of that will you, you probably haven't got any in your system anymore."

Elena hadn't expected to be offered any of the precious vervain, but took the vial without question and took a few sips of it, handing it back to Damon when she was finished, "Thanks."

Damon filled the syringe with the remaining vervain. The needle luckily had a plastic cap on it, so there was little chance he would stick it in himself by accident, but erring on the side of caution he wrapped it in a cloth he retrieved from the glove box.

"Elena, I'm going to leave the keys in the ignition. If anything happens to me I want you to run as fast as you can back to the car and get away."

"Okay," she agreed.

He lifted his hand to her cheek and stroked his thumb across her smooth skin.

Elena closed her eyes at the contact. "Damon, if something happens…"

"Shush," he interrupted her, "Try not to think of the bad outcomes okay, only the good."

She nodded her head and opened her eyes again to look at him; she nervously nibbled on her lower lip. She had a thousand things she felt she should say, but couldn't bring herself to say any of them.

"Come on, I think I see a clearing through the trees over there," he pointed to show Elena, "we can try to lead him to there."

Elena and Damon exited the car, and Damon made sure the driver's door remained unlocked in case Elena needed it as an escape route. He shoved the syringe, wrapped in the cloth, into his back pocket, and pulled the back of his jacket over it to conceal it. He joined Elena and they walked through the trees towards the clearing Damon had pointed out. He could tell that Elena was incredibly nervous and he would be lying if he said he wasn't either. Damon wished more than ever that he'd stood his ground and insisted she had remained in Mystic Falls, but at least they were in this together. If he was about to die for her, he wouldn't regret the act of dying.

They reached the centre of the clearing without incident and stood side by side. Elena started to look around anxiously, but Damon moved to stand in front of her and placed his hand on her jaw to stop her, he then turned her head to face him. Her eyes were full of worry.

"We need to draw Stefan out, we need to provoke him," Damon whispered.

"How do you plan on provoking him dare I ask?" Elena asked boldly.

"Kiss me," he said quickly.

Elena wasn't sure she had heard him correctly, "What?"

"Elena please kiss me."

She eyed him suspiciously, she hadn't misheard him. Elena hesitated for a moment, but trusting he had a plan moved forward and gave him a quick peck on the lips. She backed away from him just as quick.

They waited, the silence surrounding them, but nothing happened.

"Maybe we were wrong, maybe he hasn't followed us," she stated too loudly.

Damon immediately shushed her, "Shush. No he's out there, I know it."

"What's he waiting for then?" She asked equally as quiet.

"I don't know. Kiss me again."

Elena rolled her eyes, but seeing his serious expression she complied and leaned forward for a second time, her lips meeting his. But instead of immediately pulling away, Elena's lips lingered against Damon's. They didn't know which one of them made the move; maybe it was both of them, but the kiss suddenly deepened and became more passionate. Elena began to forget why they were kissing and started to loose herself in the kiss, it felt so right. She began to feel dizzy from the lack of oxygen and could feel Damon's strong arms wrap around her to keep her balanced.

A loud savage growl roared through the clearing; Damon and Elena froze against each other. Their lips slowly parted and Elena, who was out of breath from the kiss, slowly raised panicked filled eyes to Damon's.

All of a sudden Elena was torn away from Damon and pushed to the floor. She looked back up to see Stefan growling at her with rage; murder in his eyes. But his focus soon changed and his rage directed elsewhere; he turned and advanced on Damon, who had also been pushed to the floor. Elena could do nothing but watch helplessly from the ground as Stefan approached Damon.

"Couldn't wait to get rid of me could you? So you could have her all to yourself," Stefan stated with spite in his tone.

"Stefan, you're not thinking straight," Damon tried to reason with him.

"Oh I'm thinking straight," he grabbed hold of Damon's jacket on each side of his shoulder and pulled Damon to his feet, "my thoughts have never been so clear." He laid a hard punch into Damon's face.

Damon was no longer willing to be the victim and with his full strength returned he fought back. Damon blocked Stefan's next punch and delivered his own blow, first to Stefan's face and then to his chest, knocking him several feet backwards."

Stefan looked back at him with surprise, "You've got your strength back."

"You're damn right I have, I can take you brother."

"We'll see about that."

Stefan charged at his brother, he grabbed Damon at the waist in a football tackle and knocked him into a nearby tree. The large tree trunk split under the pressure, but didn't fall.

Damon had hit the tree hard and was now pinned against it, but he didn't allow his position to be a weakness, he grabbed his brother's throat and applied pressure, as Stefan began to struggle against his grip, Damon managed to shift his weight and throw Stefan across the clearing. Damon pushed away from the tree and followed his brother.

Damon approached Stefan, who was lying on his back on the ground momentarily stunned. Damon crouched down; he pressed his arm across Stefan's chest and applied just the right amount of pressure to prevent him from getting up. Damon started to put his plan into motion, "Think about all the things you've done, think of all those you've hurt and killed, think about your guilt."

"I have no guilt, such a pointless human thing to feel, I've switched it off and guess what brother – I like it."

"Stefan," Elena heard this and gasped at his candid declaration.

Damon reached round to his back pocket to pull out the syringe, but to his horror realised it was missing. Elena watching his actions, realised the syringe must have fallen out at some point. She stood up and frantically searched the clearing with her eyes.

Stefan used the distraction to struggle against Damon's hold, but through sheer will and determination Damon maintained his grip and position.

Elena spotted the syringe and ran over to it. She picked it up and ran towards Damon. "Damon," when he looked towards her she threw it to him and he expertly caught it with his free hand.

Pulling the plastic cap off the needle with his teeth, Damon raised the syringe high above Stefan and plunged it down directly into Stefan's chest above his heart. He then released the full contents into Stefan's system.

Stefan immediately went to defend himself, but found his strength impaired by the large dose of vervain. He remained conscious, but was unable to move.

Damon crouched closer to Stefan and stared directly into his eyes. "Now you WILL listen to me. This. Isn't. You." He slowly enunciated each word, then continued, "No matter how many times I tried to get you to give into your darker urges you never did, you stood your ground and never gave in, despite whatever temptation lay before you. Yes you slipped a couple of times, reverting to a fraction of the monster I see before me now, but you always pulled yourself back. You always had someone looking after your lighter side, first Lexi, then Elena and now you have me. I want my brother back and I'm not leaving this clearing until he's staring me back in the face."

"Then you have a very long wait ahead of you," Stefan managed to say.

"I don't think I do. Think of all the sick and unforgivable things you've ever done, it's all on your shoulders."

"Damon, what are you doing?" Elena asked unsure of where Damon was going with all this.

But Damon ignored her, determined to get Stefan to feel something.

"Think of all the innocents that you've killed for no reason."

"You're one to talk Damon, you're such a hypocrite, how many people have you killed over the years?" Stefan countered.

"I've done some terrible things too, I'm not denying that, but I'm changing Stefan. But you, this isn't you. How many other lives do you have to destroy before you realise that? The girl is the storage facility was called Valerie Mortimer, did you know that? She was a year younger than Elena. Or the girl you killed at the motel last night, she was stopping off on her way to college, about to start a new chapter in her life. How many other promising young lives have you ended since following Klaus? And historically, let us not forget that Katherine was caught because of you, our father died at your hands. And remember Elena's ancestors and the other founding families you taunted."

Damon looked down at his brother and could see the start of an internal struggle begin. He hoped that his words were starting to reach Stefan, so he continued, "And what about Elena? You ripped into her throat without thinking, Elena Stefan, how could you even contemplate doing that? And then there's me. You would have killed me back at the mansion if Elijah and the Originals hadn't spooked you. I know you've wanted to kill me countless times, but you never could. You always saw the good in me, hoping I'd change. Now our roles have reversed."

Seeing the pain start to creep into Stefan's eyes, Damon softened his voice and changed tactics.

"You know what? I blamed you for years for forcing me to become a vampire, but I've come to realise it wasn't you – it was my choice alone. I'm sorry – I'm sorry for blaming you all these years, I'm sorry for making your life a misery and for trying to turn you into a monster, something which just isn't you. And most of all I'm sorry for putting you in harm's way, that it's my fault you went to Klaus, that you made a deal with him to save my life. You care Stefan and I know you're still in there, I can see you in those eyes – I want my little brother back."

"Please, just let me go." Stefan quietly pleaded.

"I can't," Damon replied with authority.

Stefan turned his head away from Damon, and Damon lessened the pressure he was applying against him.

"What have I done?" Stefan whispered.

"Stefan listen to me, you will get through this, you just have to give it time." Damon began to feel like he was finally talking to his brother again.

"I can't go back to the way things were, not after everything."

"Look, this wasn't your fault. Klaus forced you into this situation, he essentially drugged you with human blood, you can't be held responsible for your actions."

Stefan finally looked back at Damon with unshed tears in his eyes, "I knew what I was doing Damon, I embraced it. The freedom of switching off your emotions, of not having a care in the world. No guilt, no shame, no regrets."

"Yes it's easier, but it's not living. You more than anyone wanted to live as normal a human life as possible, and with that comes emotion and guilt. Stefan you will get through this."

Elena had approached the two brothers silently but now spoke, "Stefan?"

"I can't Damon; I can't face her, not right now."

Damon looked back to Elena and gave a warning shake of his head and she backed off. He turned back to Stefan, "Come back to Mystic Falls with us. You and I can spend some time together, just the two of us, we can work together to sort all this out," Damon suggested to him.

"I can't go back, not just yet. You have to let me go."

"Stefan, you're unstable at the moment, you need to be in a safe, familiar environment."

"Where you can lock me away and keep an eye on me?" he accused.

"That's not what I meant."

"If you love me Damon, you'll let me go."

"Stefan, how do I know that you're not going to try to kill yourself like last time?" Damon remembered all too clearly the last time Stefan was ashamed of his actions and tried to end it all, it had taken Elena to talk him out of it then.

"You don't, but whatever I do or decide it's my choice."

Choice, it always came down to a choice. Damon had to let Stefan make his own decision about this.

"Fine," reluctantly he dropped his grip on Stefan. "I trust you little brother, but if you go after anyone else, or if you attack someone we care about I will find you again and then we'll be having his conversation all over again. Do you understand?"

"I understand."

Damon stood back up and walked to Elena's side; he grabbed her hand and pulled her a safe distance away from Stefan. "Elena, we're going to have to let him go."

"But, he's unstable Damon, we can't let him leave."

"We don't have a choice, unless we stake him which isn't an option, he's doesn't want to come with us. He needs time and space on his own to get over this."

"I don't like it," she stated.

"Neither do I, but it's his decision and we have to respect that."

Elena stared at the floor instead of his eyes, effectively ending their conversation.

Damon walked back over to Stefan and Elena slowly followed him. She remained slightly behind Damon, wary of Stefan.

Speaking to Stefan, Damon warned, "I will be watching from a distance." He then softened and said, "If you need anything you know how to find me." Damon pulled out Stefan's phone, he had been holding on to it since he had taken it from the Sheriff; it no longer held any traces of blood from Stefan's first victim. "Here, you lost this."

Stefan took the phone from Damon, "Thanks".

Stefan stood up slowly, the last traces of vervain wearing off. Damon sensed it too and was fully aware that if Stefan wanted to attack again he could do. But he didn't. Instead Stefan just gave them a long hard look, then turned and walked away.

…

Stefan felt the distance growing behind him, taking him away from Damon and Elena, the two people he cared the most about, but also the two people he had betrayed. But despite that, they hadn't killed him and they had given him another chance. They believed he was capable of being good. Damon had trusted that he wouldn't revert back to being the ripper and a part of him was starting to hope that he was strong enough to earn that trust. However, the other part of him was fighting it, the ripper inside him yearned to be let loose again, and that part desperately wanted to go after the Originals, rescue Klaus and continue what they had started together.

It was only a matter of time before he discovered which half of him was more dominant.

Stefan looked back over his shoulder at Damon and Elena one last time, he didn't know if he would ever see either of them again. As they vanished from his sight, Stefan too disappeared into the night.

…

Elena and Damon remained stood side by side in the empty clearing; both were staring at the spot where Stefan had disappeared.

"Have we just made the biggest mistake of our lives?" Elena asked.

"I hope not, but time will tell." He replied honestly.

Damon looked over to her and wrapped his arm around her waist, "Let's go home Elena."

She rested her head against his shoulder and allowed him to lead her back to the car. She was tired and couldn't wait to return to Mystic Falls. She hadn't achieved the outcome she had hoped for when they set out on this journey, but maybe she could learn to let Stefan go and move on with her life. Maybe.


	12. Chapter 12

Spoiler Warning: Minor spoilers for Season 3 contained in this chapter.

* * *

><p>Chapter 12 – Epilogue<p>

"There you go," Bonnie stated simply.

"That's it?" Elena asked surprised.

"Yep," Bonnie answered.

Bonnie, Jeremy and Elena all turned to look at the vampire who was waiting impatiently outside.

"Well give it a go mate," Jeremy instructed.

Damon gave him a warning glare for giving him an order, but humoured him by trying to walk through the doorway of the Gilbert household, only to come across an invisible barrier.

Jeremy smiled at the image of Damon walking into an invisible wall.

"It worked," Elena stated.

"Why sound so surprised Elena? You know what I'm capable of now," Bonnie said offended.

"I'm sorry Bonnie, it's just that I haven't quite got my head around the magic stuff yet. Vampires I can handle, but magic is still a bit of a mystery to me."

"Is someone going to invite me in already?" Damon said impatiently. "I'm not getting any younger."

"You're not getting any older either! What's the rush, you're going to live for an eternity?" Jeremy asked.

"Yes, but I'm not about to spend that eternity standing out here now am I? Invite me in."

Jeremy and Bonnie looked to Elena, neither of them were about to do it.

Elena just shook her head at both of them; Damon had a long way to go before the others started to trust him. "Damon, I invite you in," she said without hesitation.

Damon smirked at Jeremy and Bonnie, and successfully took a step inside the house.

"Why thank you Elena," Damon stated smugly.

Damon's phone then rang and he pulled it out of his pocket. He looked at the display and let out a groan, 'Vampire Barbie.'

"I'll just take this outside," he stated and walked back out onto the porch.

As he walked outside he could hear Jeremy say behind him, "Look at that, you invite him in and he immediately goes back out anyway."

Damon ignored Jeremy and answered the call, "What is it Blondie?"

"Damon where have you been, I've been trying to reach you? I have a crisis on my hands."

"Well, I've had my own problems you know, like Klaus coercing Stefan and trying to avoid being killed. What's your crisis and how does it involve me? Did wolf boy break another leash? Because if he did keep him away from me, you know what they say, 'Once bitten, twice as… pissed off.'"

"What?" Caroline asked confused. "No, I'm trying to organise Elena's eighteenth B'day festivities which are going to be awesome. The only thing is, it's a surprise, so we can't have it at hers and I need a big, free space to hold it in, so I've decided to have it at the boarding house. Is that okay with you?"

"Well, I…"

"Great, I'll be around in a bit to measure up for decorations."

"Decorations? You know Caroline, with everything that has happened maybe this isn't such a good idea."

"You're kidding right? That's exactly why we need to do this, Elena deserves some good times."

Damon considered her words for a minute and couldn't help but agree with her.

"Fine, okay. I'll see you later."

"Great, bye." She quickly hung up, not giving him a chance to change his mind.

Damon stared at his phone, what had he just agreed to?

Elena emerged from the house and approached him, noticing his worried expression, "Damon, what's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing to worry about. Look I better get going," he shuddered at the thought, no doubt talk of streamers and balloons awaited him when he reached the boarding house; he was going to be so out of his depth, he would rather face Klaus again. But ultimately it was for Elena, so he would endure it. Looking back at her he asked, "Are you going to be alright here?"

"I'll be fine, I've got Bonnie and Jer. Plus there's a fresh new vampire seal over the house."

He nodded, "Just be careful who you invite in." Then there was a moment of awkward silence between them, both of them lost in their own thoughts about Stefan.

"I don't want to give up on him," Elena stated.

"Neither do I, but we have to carry on as normal as possible, for our own sanity. You know, when life gives you lemons… yadda, yadda, yadda."

"What does that mean exactly?" She asked.

"It means that you need to make the best of a bad situation, that you have to take what life has dealt you and use it the best you can. I don't know if Stefan will ever go back to being his normal self, he's done it before, but it's taken years. You need to prepare yourself for the possibility it may not be in your life time."

"So I should act as if nothing's happened, just let my life roll by?"

"You don't have a choice," he slowly walked closer to her until he stood directly in front of her, "but you're not alone in all this Elena. Know that for certain." He then unexpectedly pulled her into a hug and she let him, needing the comfort. They stood that way for a few minutes, until Damon reluctantly released her, kissing her on the top of her head as he did. "I'll see you," he turned and began to walk to his car.

Damon got halfway down the path, when she called his name, "Damon?" Her voice held an edge of panic.

He turned back to face her, "Yeah?"

"You won't leave will you? Mystic Falls I mean."

"Don't worry, I'll never be far away, if you need me just call and I'll be at you side in a heartbeat. I'll be around as long as you need me," he paused and then spoke to her quietly, "I love you remember."

With uncertainty, she tried to reply, "Damon, I…"

"Goodnight Elena," he cut her off from saying anything else. She would make a decision in her own time, he had promised he wouldn't pressurise her.

"Goodnight Damon," her worried look turned into a smile.

Damon returned the smile, and with a friendly wave he turned and walked away.

Elena remained on the porch watching him get into his car and disappear down the road into the dark night.

Elena crossed her arms to shield herself from the evening chill and looked up into the clear night sky to watch the stars overhead. What the future held, she didn't know, but she knew one thing for sure - tomorrow was another day.

* * *

><p><span>Author's Note<span>: Well that's the end of my fiction. My intention was to write the gap between Seasons 2 and 3; and to finish it before Season 3 started. I know my ideas obviously won't play out on screen, but I had fun writing it and it kept me busy over the summer. I hope you enjoyed reading it and if you got this far thank you for sticking with me. If you did enjoy it please leave a review, I would love to hear what you think. :0)


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